Here We GO!
by Hiei-Riku-RubedoFAN
Summary: Learn or Die. Wonderful choices no? Being thrown into a new world isn't disorienting enough but we also have to throw in psychotic demons who love to watch pain and blood. Time to make friends and enemies and try not to die. Knowing my luck I'm screwed.
1. Where Am I?

_**ME:**_** I bet I know what some of you are thinking. "Oh great, another author talking about what they would've done if they had been in the story. I'm just going to skip over this." WELL STOP! Yeah sure this is a self-insert but I don't care if they're clichéd because this is going to be fun! Please no flames if you don't like it. That's the difference of opinion that we all have. Muse time. APPEAR!**

_**Hiei:**_** Damn! I'm a muse for another damned story of yours.**

_**ME:**_** Oh come on Hiei. My story **_**This Means War**_** isn't that bad and I haven't tortured you that much.**

_**Hiei:**_** Whatever. Let's just get on with this.**

_**ME:**_** You sound so down about this…Well how about I make a deal with you. If I piss you off too much in the story you can hit me hard in the head?**

_**Hiei:**_** (Giving it deep thought) Deal. She owns only her character.**

_**ME:**_** (Thinks about the deal I just made) Shoot! You're gonna hit me with your sword! CRAP! WHAT DID I GET MYSELF INTO?!**

_**Hiei:**_** You didn't specify that I had to hit you with a fist.**

_**ME:**_** Damn……I hadn't planned that far. Oh well. Let's get on with the story! Oh and for this story I have everything following the Manga series instead of the Anime. So a few little things will be different from the show and trust me, I'm not screwing up the facts. I'm following the Manga version.**

_**Chapter 1: Where Am I? OMG! He Got Hit By A CAR!**_--

I was sitting quietly beside my mom on the dark blue couch in our living room watching the TV when suddenly something felt really wrong. A large shiver shook my entire spine and I snapped out of my TV induced trance to glance around the room worriedly. My hands began to shake more than usual and my body went cold.

'_What the fudge was that? It felt……like energy……'_ I thought in confusion as I rubbed the back of my neck. I moved my long hair out of my face and stood up from the couch somewhat shaky on my feet.

"You ok baby girl?" my mom asked in her protective tone.

"Yep, I'm good mom. Hey listen I'm going to get a head start on my reading for the summer. Peace," and with that I bolted across the room and up the stairs to hide away in my lair. I threw open the door and charged in to collapse onto the bed watching my door slowly close behind me. I sighed and rolled over to look up at the ceiling in the darkness of my painted room. I was actually about to calm down when suddenly I felt something else run through my body and my blood seemed to freeze in the veins.

'_Why don't you take a break and visit a world of untold possibilities?' _a strange voice echoed through my mind. I opened my mouth to shout but only found that my voice was gone. I tried to thrash around but suddenly my entire body wouldn't obey me and I was stuck lying there like a sitting duck. A bright flash erupted from my ceiling and I tightly closed my eyes to keep myself from going blind and began wishing for someone to walk into my room right then and there. I felt my entire body lift off my bed and I did the only thing I could think of. I screamed.

"SOMEONE HELP ME!"

CRASH

"Owowowow," I moaned rubbing my now aching back. I sat up opening my eyes and nearly screamed when I found myself in a trashy looking alley instead of my dark red room. I jumped up quickly dusting myself off and looked around the place filling up with curiosity. My hand strayed up to my neck where I then began turning my locket over and over in my fingers. I always did this when I was excited and nervous. The locket was my safe guard…after all, my mom gave it to me at Christmas and its protected me ever since.

"Where…am I?" I muttered to myself quietly as I began to move for the street just beyond the alley. I stopped by a broken mirror and nearly passed out in complete surprise upon seeing myself standing there. I no longer looked like my normal self! I had longer dark brown hair that feel past my waist and my eyes were dark red and pupil-less. I still had my normal jeans and a red tank on but I wasn't my ordinary self anymore.

"I'm Rin!" I deducted in surprise. I nearly exploded in excitement as I jumped up and down, "Sweet! I'm a kickass demoness who is rivaled by few and never worries about the consequences! This is so awesome!"

I was going to continue my fangirl-like rant but suddenly I heard tires of a car screeching, a boy's voice screaming something, and finally a dull thunk of something slamming into something else that was much smaller. I could feel the color drain from my face as I ran towards the entrance of the alley but I stopped myself remembering my eyes. I can't go walking out in front of a bunch of humans with red pupil-less eyes. That would be so freakin' suspicious and I'd be labeled as a freak in no time. Out of instinct, I shoved my hands in my pocket in thought and nearly scraped my finger on a pair of glasses. I blinked in confusion and pulled out a pair of dark sunglasses.

"Cha-ching!" I yelped happily as I shoved them on and ran out of the alley…nearly crashing into an elderly couple. After nearly getting my ear lectured off I pushed through the crowd of people to see a bright red car stopped before an unmoving boy clad in bright green. The 'oh shit' reflex kicked in and I ran forward to the guy's side. He was around the same age as me with jet black hair and bruises all over his bloody face. I checked for a pulse to find none and sat there gaping like a complete and total idiot as I realized, I knew that corpse, "Y-Y-Y-Yusuke?"

"You know him young lady?" a man asked behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see the police had made the scene along with the paramedics.

"Yes sir, I do. His name is Yusuke Urameshi and we have to tell his family what's happened," I quickly answered remembering how to get police officers to work extra fast on getting news spread. After all I know plenty of police officers and detectives and I know exactly what to say to them, "His mother lives on Fourth Street. Look for the sign on the door that says Atsuko and Yusuke Urameshi. Please hurry."

"Right!" the police officer moved aside for the paramedics and I also jumped back. Since the police were taking care of his mom, I'll be the one to and go tell the one person who will be completely heartbroken about all of this. Man……I'm going to have to comfort her while she cries her eyes out……I'm not looking forward to this but it'd be best if someone was there.

_--Ten minutes later--_

"Damn!" I griped nearly tripping over myself as I entered the school grounds. I placed my hands on my knees and gasped for breath. '_I can't rest now damn it. I have to find Keiko!'_ I straightened up and looked around the grounds to see that it was completely full of students. I ran forward and pushed past all the uniform wearing students to see if I could find her, "It's like looking for a needle in a haystack. Or vice versa. Where the bloody hell could she be?"

After searching and searching I decided to revert to the one thing I knew would get her. It was the one thing that always got people's attention back home. My voice when I was shouting at the top of my lungs. I inhaled deeply and prepared to shriek at the top of my lungs but suddenly a voice snapped from behind me, "Who are you and what are you doing on school grounds."

I know that voice, "Keiko Yukimura!"

"How do you know me?" she questioned as I spun around to come face to face with the brown haired girl herself. Yes! I was a little taller than her! What now Keiko! Uh………moving on now.

"Uh……how I know you is of no concern! Listen you need to come with me and I have some bad news for you, alright," I quickly started before she could go off on me. I leaned closer to her and whispered, "The news has to deal with Yusuke Urameshi. Please, I can't go into detail here but it's really important you come."

At the mention Yusuke's name Keiko grabbed my wrist and dragged me from the school grounds in a matter of seconds. No wonder why Yusuke said she smacked so freakin hard. The girl was strong! What the hell did I get myself into now?

"Ok spill it! What happened to Yusuke?" Keiko suddenly asked spinning around releasing my arm. She looked at with me with such pleading eyes that I stepped back slightly caught off guard at the look. _'Oh man…this is going to be so hard on her,'_ I thought in guilt. I looked down at the ground and sighed before looking up at her with a hurt look. She looked at me and her eyes began to shine in worry, "What's going on?!"

"Earlier today……Yusuke skipped school after someone struck his last nerve. He came across a young boy who was playing with his ball near the street. The boy's ball went into the street and as the boy ran after it a speeding car turned the corner and headed straight at him……Yusuke……Yusuke saved the boy's life……at the cost of his own," I whispered looking at the ground.

"No……no……Yusuke's…dead?" Keiko stuttered in hurt confusion. At first I thought she was going to make me say it again but she suddenly fell against me and started crying her eyes out. I was so stunned and since I'm not the kind of person that's used to comforting people I just patted her head giving soft kind words, but Keiko wasn't stopping. She kept crying, and crying, and crying until I thought she was going to dehydrate herself. How much can one person cry at a time anyway?

The rest of the world seemed to fly past us until finally I found myself at Yusuke's showing. I swallowed hard and stepped forward into the house to see Yusuke's teacher Mr. Takenaka muttering his two bits about Yusuke and it finally sinking in to Atsuko that her son was gone. Just like that the water works began yet again and this time she was wailing about her son and everything else. It must've been so devastating……for a mother to lose the only thing she really loves……even if she had a funny way of showing it……I wonder if my mom even knows I'm gone……does she know and if so, where does she think I am……mom……Crap here come my tears! Snap out of it!

I moved forward to bow to Atsuko but suddenly a horrible shiver was sent down my spine and I spun on my heel to come face to face with Yusuke's spirit. YIKES! They looked a lot freakier then they did in the Manga! He had this weird glow to him and he was even paler than my albino skin! Man, just looking at him made me shake. He just looked so freaking creepy! Even his black hair looked lighter and his eyes shone in a very strange way that sent shivers running through me. "Yusuke," I breathed sort of surprised.

"You can see me?" Yusuke stuttered as he realized I wasn't staring through him.

What do I say? What do I say?! Crap! How do I get out of this?!

"Now pay your respects to the nice boy…" I heard a female voice whisper from behind me. I spun around to see the little boy Yusuke saved and his mother. She moved aside to console Atsuko while I moved away from Yusuke in his freaky form and knelt down in front of his corpse. I bowed and whispered a prayer and then stood up to face Atsuko. She looked at me and I bowed yet again before speaking to her.

"You're son is very special. I know you're going through a very hard time right now and if you ever need any help I'll be wiling to do it. I didn't have the honor of meeting Yusuke face to face but I know him well enough to know that he's trying everything he can to make things right," I whispered quietly to her. I looked up and froze at seeing the look on her face. I didn't know what to do so I did the only thing my instincts told me to do. I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around her and let her sob on my shoulder. Just like Keiko she went on and on and it seemed like she'd pass out from dehydration before she stopped. It was long after everyone left that she finally stopped and after escorting Keiko out she soon began to drown herself in booze. Jeeze……how the hell is that gonna help? Sometimes I don't understand people.

I stood and walked out of the house without her notice and using the powers I gained in my new form, leapt up to the roof nearby and sat down. I guess I'll just wait for Keiko to come and them have another tear fest. I looked up to the sky and began thinking back to my home. Does my mom know I'm gone? What'll she do when she realizes that I may not come back? What'll happen to me here? Will I end up living here for the rest of my life? And……what brought me here anyway?

I was just about to nod off when suddenly, "YUSUKE YOU IDIOT!! So freaking tough……and you die in traffic?! That's a wimp's death! I didn't raise no wimp!"

Right on time. Atsuko's drunk and Yusuke's probably talking to Keiko right now. Which means that soon they're gonna realize he'll come back and blah, blah, blah, tears, blah, blah, blah, happiness and then they're going to go to bed……good for them!

WAIT! I don't have anywhere to sleep! I don't have any money or anything! No! How am I gonna live through this! AHHHHHHHHHH!

Ok……enough of being a drama queen. I guess I'll just have to sleep in a tree or on a bench or something. As for food I'm sure I could always jib someone. I might even mooch off of Atsuko……that should prove to be entertaining. Get all her food while she's drunk and then……um…never mind, moving on.

"Atsuko! Open up! It's me! Please, Atsuko, open the door! Atsuko you won't believe this! Yusuke came…I mean, I saw…" Keiko began stuttering as I heard the door open. About time they got here! I sat up and saw Atsuko staring at Keiko with a dumbfounded look all over her face and her finger pointing over her shoulder. Her face was tear stained and it was only going to get worse. Joy, I get to see more tears. God, why did the beginning have to be so freaking heart wrenching? It's like one of those damn soaps my grandma used to watch back home.

"Yusuke…" Atsuko whispered as more tears began to form.

"What's……What's wrong?" Keiko asked with wide eyes.

"I don't…I mean, I opened the casket to bop him on the head one last time…and his face…it was rosy…His heart…I heard it beating…Yusuke…is alive…That shiftless no good…milestone around my……Dear god my boy is alive!" Atsuko finally collapsed to her knees in tears and Keiko bent down to cry beside her. They began sobbing together and I was beginning to wonder if they cried long enough if a river would start…What I don't do tears people!

"Y'know. It might be funny to break the egg on purpose, so I fail and my soul never returns," I heard Yusuke laugh from above the scene. I felt myself get a vein in my forehead and I grabbed a stone off the roof and chucked it up knowing full well it would phase through as if nothing happened. And yet…it smacked it so hard upside his freaking huge head that he fell onto the same roof as me. OH SHIZNE! What did I get myself into now?!

"It actually hit him?!" I cried out worriedly as Yusuke jumped up ready for a fight. He glared at me and Botan flew down beside him to look at me like I was something out of this world…well technically I was but you get what I mean.

"What'd ya do that for?!" Yusuke snapped and then remembered that he was a ghost, "Wait! How'd you do that and how come you can see me?! BOTAN!"

"I would like to know as well. Who are you?" she asked floating over me.

"Uh…well…um…gotta go!" I jumped up and attempted to run off the roof but I hit a lose tile and……slid off……right onto the other street……face first, "OW!"

"HEY! GET BACK HERE!" Yusuke shouted causing me to jump up and cut out. I ran for the street and bolted across the cross walk even though it said not to walk. A pair of headlights shone on me but I kept running as fast as I could and closed my eyes hoping to pass the car in time. No such luck, in fact the very front side of the car clipped my side and sent me flying forward into the sidewalk. I lied there in a daze for a moment before realizing that the only thing that hurt was the arm I fell on. I looked at my arm to see scratches all over it and it was bleeding pretty bad. Just my forsaken luck. Damn it.

"I've gotta get outta here and find somewhere to rest," I muttered quietly as I stood and bolted off yet again in some strange direction. As I ran I suddenly realized something fairly important…I had no freakin clue where the hell I was going! Great…Here I am running around like a total idiot with no freakin clue where to go and I have a soul trying to pulverize me for information. Man, even as Rin Ishida, my luck isn't any better than usual!

I spun around a corner and found the building that would save me. If I were watching this as an anime it would have a gold aura around it and a chorus of Hallelujah would be going. I smiled and ran into the one place I used to avoid back home.

The hospital.

I walked in and was immediately met with that clean, sanitized smell and feeling that always threatened to swallow me whole. I sighed and moved towards one of the nurses but she quickly caught sight of my arm before I could even open my mouth. Crap, here we go.

"Oh my gosh! What happened to you?!" she nearly gushed as she ran over to me looking over my arm.

"I fell," I answered calmly. This was true. I just won't tell her about getting clipped by the car……that might cause me to get in debt with the hospital…I really don't want to spend the night here. I just needed to get the arm taken care of.

"Stay here," she answered calmly before disappearing. If I hadn't know any better I would sworn she had to be a demon to move that freakin fast but then again, all nurses disappeared that fast. It made my head spin just thinking about it……then again that could be the blood loss. I sat down to wait and overheard something very interesting that you never heard in the Yu-Yu Hakusho Manga.

"Yes, Shiori Minamino doesn't seem to be getting any better. I just can't bring myself to tell her son, Shuichi, that there just doesn't seem to be any hope. He loves her so much," a doctor muttered before taking a sip of coffee.

"Shiori is a strong woman. She may make it out of this," another much younger doctor argued softly.

"She is indeed strong but she just doesn't seem to be able to call on that strength. If we keep her on meds maybe her strength will come but it might very well take a year. She says she feels better but she's not anywhere near it," he said rubbing his brow. I was so engrossed in their conversation that I didn't even notice the nurse had come back until I felt my arm burn with the cleaning stuff she put on it. IT BURNS!! Um…cough…ok enough of that.

"How do you think her son would take it if she did indeed die?" the second doctor asked the first. He whispered something that caused both of their faces to fall and the quickly strode away at hearing their names get called to an emergency room patient.

"Poor Shiori……" I muttered quietly.

"You know her? She's well known for her caring son. Shuichi loves his mother so much. It's such a shame that such a young man should have to worry so much about his mother," the nurse sighed in a dreamy state. I finally took the time to look her over and realized she was only a year or two older than me……and the fact that every time she said 'Shuichi' she looked like she was in a dream.

"You……do you like him?" I asked slyly.

"N-no!" she stuttered blushing ten different shades of red.

"Sure," I smiled as she finished wrapping up my arm. I looked around and then whispered, "Could you take me to Ms. Minamino's room? I won't wake her up, I know its late but I would like to see her."

She looked around for a moment and whispered, "Ok. Follow me and stay close."

The nurse stood and I ran after her as we went through the strange halls of the place. I carefully watched where we walked storing it in my memory in case I would have to come back. Soon we came upon a door that had her name on it and we walked in to see her fast asleep in the bed.

"Please be quiet and do not wake her when you leave," the nurse whispered leaving me and closing the door. I walked over to her and immediately saw the scars all along her arms because of that incident with Shuichi (or Kurama).

"Man, why is it everywhere I go I see things that make me remember my mom," I hissed and walked over to the chair by the window. I sat down and yawned as I stared at the stars. My eyes began closing and I curled up falling into an unwilling sleep.

_--Hours Later--_

"Ack…sun," I muttered as I opened my eyes to look around. I quickly took notice of three things that made my mind began reeling for reasons. One it was day, how long had I been out? Two, there was a blanket over me, who put it there? And three, Ms. Minamino was staring at me with a smile…SHE'S AWAKE AND LOOKING AT ME!

"Good morning," she said with a smile. I yawned and sat up rubbing my eyes to realize my sunglasses were gone. Crap! My eyes! I tried to hurried cover them from her sight but she only laughed and said, "I already saw your eyes dear. Don't worry. They don't scare me. How is your arm?"

"Um…good I guess," I answered slightly confused, "Aren't you wondering what I'm doing here?"

"Yes, but I thought it would be better to let you open up yourself," she smiled.

"I already like you," I whispered standing up. I quickly folded the blanket up and walked over to her, "So…My name is Rin Ishida. I'm……kinda a friend of Shuichi. I heard about what's happened and thought that I could come and say hi or something."

"I see……Shuichi never told me that one of his friends might drop by," she said quietly looking over me. Then she smiled and said, "Something seems to have happened to you. Where are your parents?"

With that question in the air I just began to gush at her. I couldn't very well tell her I came from a world where she was just an anime and manga character so I told her I was a foreign exchange student and that I didn't even get to say goodbye to my family and well…everything in an edited version. She listened so well and after that we began talking like we were old friends. My mom and teachers always said I related to adults easier than my peers. Soon we were laughing and talking and so engrossed in conversation that it wasn't until she looked away that I knew someone else was in the room with us.

I slowly turned around and felt my stomach flip at seeing a tall boy with bright red hair and deep green eyes. Shuichi Minamino……or better known to me as Kurama. He stared at my eyes in surprise and I quickly swiped the sunglasses of the table and put them on. I also was quick to grab a sheet of paper and a red pen that was lying next to them. I stood and bowed to Ms. Minamino for the pleasant conversation before walking over to Kurama and whispering so quietly that his mother could not have caught, "I wonder if Yoko would like to talk. Meet me on the roof. Fifteen minutes."

With that I strolled out of the room and quickly made my way to the roof using the halls that I watched as I followed the nurse. I walked out on the roof and walked to the very edge to look at the street below me. So many people were walking all along the street and so many of them were living blissful lives. I sat down on the edge and kicked my feet as I looked at them all. Before it slipped my mind I quickly began to write something down on the paper. I read it over and signed it to Hiei and couldn't think of a way to say who I was so I left it blank. When I finished I pocketed pen and folded the paper into my hand so I wouldn't drop it. I sighed looking up at the sky and began singing the song that my mom taught me. It was one that filled me with joy and it seemed as if the world didn't matter anymore. I was so far off that I didn't even notice Kurama behind me until he spoke.

"Nice song," he said calmly almost causing me to jump out of my skin. I jumped away from the edge and stood up looking at him breathing hard. He was looking at me really seriously and it almost looked like he was glaring at me. Time to calm down and barter with him. I looked at him as he continued, "Two things. What were you doing with my mother and how did you know about _that_?"

"Calm down! I'm not here to fight or put your mother in danger. I had to say something for you to listen ok? It's not you I'm interested in, ok!" I began stuttering under his look. He looked so freakin murderous! That's not the Kurama I know! Well…except when his mother is involved……momma's boy……I sighed and continued a little calmer, "I just want you to pass a message onto one of your partners. I do believe his last name is Jaganshi?"

"You want to talk to Hiei?" Kurama asked completely caught off guard.

"Yes. I know he won't be willing to talk to me right off the bat but I would appreciate it if you would give him this note. Since after all you are one of his thief partners," I say extending my hand with the note to him.

"And if I refuse?" Kurama stated in a cool tone.

I sighed and rubbed my right temple saying, "You're mother is such a kind woman that loves her son. Do you think she'd be able to last long if her son suddenly ended up in a horrible situation and untold stress was placed on her?"

"You wouldn't dare bring her into this?!" Kurama nearly shouted. He was pissed.

"I honestly wouldn't want to but if you don't help me I might have to. But your mom was the first person I trusted and opened up to. I really wouldn't want to hurt her but as you clearly saw in the room I'm no normal person," I calmly replied looking him straight in the eyes. I wouldn't really hurt Ms. Minamino because she's really the first friend I've made but I needed Kurama to get the note to Hiei.

Kurama balled his fist and glared at me but finally gave in and said, "Fine, I'll give him the note. He'll get it today. Where will you be?"

The note quickly exchanged hands and I thought about the meeting place for a moment, "Do you know the Café run by the Yukimura family?"

"Yes, I've gone there a few times," Kurama answered calmly.

"I'll be waiting there," I said as I began to walk past him but he suddenly grabbed my arm and prevented me from leaving.

"Is it true what my mother said? That you have no where to live and you have no money? Is it true you have no one?" he asked in a tone of indifference but I could tell that he was genuinely concerned.

"It doesn't matter if it is. I can handle myself," I could only speak in a whisper. I shrugged him off and walked straight past him to get out of the hospital. Damn my pride. He might've helped me if I opened my mouth and asked for help. But no I couldn't do that. It would go against everything I've become. And now I'm a fifteen year old who doesn't have anyone to help her. Dang it!

I was so deep in mentally kicking myself that I didn't realize I was in the Yukimura Café until Keiko came up and nearly scared me into the next millennium. I looked at her through the sunglasses and she quickly realized I was the girl who told her about Yusuke, "Hey! It's you! We weren't properly introduced. I'm Keiko Yukimura."

"I'm Rin Ishida. Nice meeting you," I answered in monotone as I sat down.

"What would you like?" Keiko asked with a smile.

"I can't buy anything. Besides I'm not really hungry at the moment," I answered with a soft smile. Yet, suddenly my stomach let out this long growl that caused my face to burn like crazy. I looked away from Keiko as she bust out laughing.

"Not hungry. Sure. Listen order whatever you want. It's on the house and if you get into trouble you can come back here kid. We'll take care of you," Keiko's father came up hearing the conversation, "Do you have a place to stay?" I shook my head. "Well then you can come and stay with us."

"That's so generous," I smiled and ordered their special. Then they both went back and I laid my head on the counter to rest my eyes. I didn't even realize I fell asleep until I felt a hand firmly place itself on my shoulder. I jumped and whipped around to see Kurama standing there, "Whoa! Jeeze. What the heck?"

Kurama motioned over his shoulder and I looked out the window to see him. He was standing their clad in his normal black outfit and his spiky black hair. My eyes were instantly drawn not to his sword that hung at his side but his eyes. They were mesmerizing and looked……perfect. The only thing that slightly disturbed me was that I could see his third eye through the cloth. Yes through the cloth! Hiei was staring straight at me and the look on his face was a mixture of a glare and worry.

"Whatever you wrote in that letter really set him off. He demanded that I take him straight to you so he could 'question' you. I've never seen him like that," Kurama coolly stated as he watched me swallow.

"Ah hehehe," I said feeling sweat bead at my forehead. _'His third eye is glaring at me……I'm going to get my voice box ripped out. I can sense it,'_ I thought as my hands began shaking slightly. I sighed and stood up saying, "Alright, I'm ready to go."

"You're food is ready!" Keiko's mom said from behind me. I looked through my sunglasses at her and noticed the staring contest going between her and Kurama.

"Great, more obstacles," I muttered pinching the bridge of my nose.

_--Until Next Time--_

_**ME:**_** Well that's the first chapter. Tell me what you guys think. I know this wasn't exactly great but I had to get past all the morbid crap of the Manga. Next Chapter I get to come face to face with Hiei and you get to see what I wrote that pissed him off! Oh wait……crap!**

_**Hiei:**_** You pissed me off! WHACK! **

_**ME:**_** Owowowo! That hurt! Meanie!**

_**Hiei:**_** Oh well, now continue writing. I want to see what you wrote that made me look at you like that.**

_**ME:**_** Gotcha Lord of the Jagan-Eye! Ok people review! Thank you for giving this a chance and I promise it'll get better! More fighting is assured!**


	2. Knowledge Is Dangerous

_**ME:**_** See I told you this wasn't another ordinary self-insert! I don't like to write boring stuff and I like to think of things that could've happened! So I hope I'll get more reviewers and more people like this story. **

_**Hiei:**_** This story seems to have some potential. It isn't too bad so far.**

_**ME:**_** Thanks……I think I'm going to go get an ice pack now. With you as my muse I just know I'm going to get more bruises and stuff.**

_**Hiei:**_** Hn……**

_**ME:**_** HA! See you don't even disagree! This is a sign that I'm going to get my ass kicked before the end of this! Waaaaaaaaaaaa!**

_**Hiei:**_** Get over it.**

_**ME:**_** …… (Looks at him with an evil smile) Ok, fine. I'll get over it. I'll just go off and plot something evil.**

_**Hiei:**_** ……she's evil……hmmm, I think there might be use for her after all.**

_**ME:**_** Yeah, yeah, whatever. So long as you don't kill me, ok? I don't own Yu-Yu Hakusho and if I did Hiei would've beaten the hell out of Mukuro and then I would've gone from there.**

_**Hiei:**_** You really don't like Mukuro do you?**

_**ME:**_** No, I hate her. But the readers didn't come here to read about me ranting about my hatred for Mukuro. I think some of them want to see you almost kill me.**

_**Hiei:**_** That should prove entertaining. Start the chapter.**

_**ME:**_** Oh now you seem excited about this. You're blood thirsty ya know. Anyway Chapter Start!**

**-------------**

_**Chapter 2: Knowing More Than I Should IS Dangerous**_

"Great, more obstacles," I muttered pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Who is this Rin?" Mrs. Yukimura inquired curiously.

"He's a bearer of bad news. He's a friend of mine and something important has happened and I have to follow him immediately. I'm really sorry but I don't have time to eat," I quickly spoke causing Mrs. Yukimura to break eye contact with the red head. Her eyes instead stared into my glasses as if she was trying to perceive any lie I might have been feeding her but thank god my dark sunglasses hid my eyes from her.

"Don't worry about the food. Come back later and we'll have something for you. Please be sure to come back," she added the last part in such a serious tone I was sure that she noticed the sweat beading at my forehead. Yet, if anything suspicious crossed her mind she ignored it and walked back into the kitchen.

"Let's go," I whispered quietly as I moved away from Kurama and headed for the door. I pushed open the door and on instinct held it open until Kurama put his hand on the door to keep it from shutting on him before he walked out. I sensed Kurama look at me as if I was very strange and I quickly guessed it was because of the polite gesture I had shown him. I moved forward a little hesitantly and cautiously raised my gaze to meet Hiei's and almost ended up biting my tongue at the look he was giving me. I laughed nervously and said, "He's really mad huh? Maybe I should've worded that note more carefully."

"Well I'd like to stay and watch your chat but I must be getting back to my mother," Kurama said in a small tone that was filled with ice. _'It's official,'_ I sighed inwardly, _'Kurama must really hate me right now for threatening his mother and Hiei's gonna try and slit my throat……I'm not going to get home alive am I?'_

Kurama strode off and I slowly trudged across the road to stand before Hiei. Reality and fantasy collided right before my eyes as I stood with him looking down only slightly. Hiei was REAL and I REALLY pissed him off…and I bet that sword of his is REALLY sharp too and would easily cut through my neck like paper. I swallowed as I felt the color drain from my face from just thinking of such things and finally managed to ask, "Are……are you Hiei Jaganshi?"

Hiei's eyes flicked as he stared me down and finally settled on my hidden eyes. His eyes widened for a moment and it was clear that he had seen my strange eyes. Then just as if nothing happened he fixed me with another glare before turning around and saying, "Hn, follow me."

"Ok," I said slightly confused but I followed him anyway. We walked in silence down the street and I was beginning to wonder where he was taking me but with every step I took behind him I began to feel my stomach turn in knots. There was a murderous aura coming from him and I finally stopped dead as it fully smacked me upside the head. As if automatically sensing my hesitation, Hiei stopped and turned around to fix me with another cold look.

"Hurry up," he hissed angrily.

"Where are we going?" I asked trying to sound calm but my voice cracked in worry. The corner of Hiei's mouth twitched and I swore I saw a smug smile nearly break the emotionless mask he expertly created. Hiei didn't answer as he walked over to me and tightly grabbed my wrist. He roughly pulled me into a nearby alley and looked to be sure no humans were watching. Once he was satisfied he turned to me and I nearly jumped back saying, "What are you going to do?"

"WE are going to _'talk'_ but not where humans can stick their unwelcome noses," Hiei answered in a tone that was dripping in his contempt for humans. He walked forward and roughly pulled me close to him and without speaking another word launched us both high into the air.

"Aiee!" I cried out in fear as we went into the air. Normally I wasn't afraid of heights but Hiei wasn't going out of his way to make me feel safe as he held me with one arm and I could see the rooftops blur as we rushed over them. I looked forward to see us heading for a large clump of trees and realized them as the woods that Yusuke would first come face to face with the trio of thieves. My heart was racing and I looked at Hiei asking, "Do you plan on killing me or something?"

"I haven't decided," Hiei answered cryptically as he moved even faster.

'_This would be so freaking cool if I didn't fear for my life!'_ I thought as Hiei leapt further into the air. I almost closed my eyes in fear but then I actually took notice of the world flying past me and my heart raced but this time in excitement. "Wow," I muttered quietly as I scanned the world below us. My voice caused Hiei to give me a strange look and I said, "This is great. It must be great to do this whenever you want."

"Hn," Hiei answered as he leapt from the top of a building to a sturdy branch of a tree and stopped. I was beginning to think he was going to release me there when he suddenly began leaping from tree to tree with such grace and speed that, if they could my eyes would've turned green with envy.

Then it was all over and I found myself face first in the dirt. One word and only one word was needed for me to describe that feeling. Ouch.

"Now we can talk without worrying about interruptions from humans," Hiei answered from behind me as I sat up.

"Well, what if I'm a human?" I said curiously as I turned to face him and I almost swallowed my tongue when I saw the tip of his sword at my neck. I scrambled back and found myself to be pinned between the apparition that stood before me and the tree trunk that braced me from behind.

"You're no human, although you lack any demonic skill in stealth. You have demonic energy seeping from your very being. Who are you?" Hiei answered with a sneer. He glowered down his blade at me and continued, "Even Kurama agrees that you're not a normal demon and I agree seeing how you told me in the note about my evil eye and about our plan to infiltrate Spirit World……and there was _that_."

"Well……I guess you could say I'm new to the whole suppressing your demonic energy thing and well……you could say I'm a bit of a loner. As for who I am the name is Rin Ishida," I answered as calmly as I possibly could with a blade at my throat. I stared up at the apparition and continued in a calmer manner, "I really meant no harm. I just didn't think you'd come if I didn't say anything that didn't interest you."

"How did you know _that_?!" Hiei finally hissed releasing a large amount of demonic energy into the air. I swallowed as I felt the energy collide with my own and the pressure began to overwhelm me. Breathing became more difficult and I found myself staring at Hiei's hidden third eye as if it wasn't hidden behind the white cloth he so heavily favored. Just as my sight began to blur over from lack of oxygen, Hiei stepped back and allowed me to fall forward on my knees without cutting me with his sword.

"You're demonic energy. It was suffocating," I whispered shaking my head.

"Normal demons don't react to it the way you did. Most demons can't perceive my evil eye from behind the cloth either. Who exactly are you?" Hiei hissed quietly.

"I'm just a young demon looking for a team to fight with. That's how I came to seek out Kurama, Goki, and you. I want to become part of your little demonic group," I answered looking up. Hiei was staring down at me in shock and for a moment I thought I was going to have to hit him or something but then……he began laughing maniacally.

"You? Part of our group? The idea's laughable," Hiei finally said with the laughter still ringing clearly in his voice. I dug my nails into the ground and bit my lip. Back home there was one thing that I didn't put up with……and Hiei was standing before me doing the very thing. He was laughing at me as if I was stupid. NO ONE never EVER treated me like that without it blowing back in their faces.

"Ice Maiden," I hissed staring Hiei in the eyes.

Instantly his entire expression changed and his eyes widened in shock. He stared at me for a moment with a stunned expression and it was clear he was debating in his mind what to do next. I felt his demonic energy sky rocket and it was clear that he was resisting the urge to slam me into the tree and demand how I knew that. I smiled and saw the situation could go my way if I walked a careful line that Hiei had just shown me. I took a breath and began weaving the web I hoped would get him to calm down and at least allow me to stay near him until Yusuke came back.

"I have to admit I'm surprised you haven't tried to kill me yet. I haven't handled this situation very well. I'm not very tactful at getting someone I've just met to trust me. I understand that it's a lot to ask of you but I think I have proved to be useful in gathering accurate information. If you doubt that then ask me if I know the reason you had the Jagan-Eye implanted. Ask me who did it and how long you stayed with that person. Ask me about your heritage and about the ice maiden," I calmly said being sure not to look smug. I had to state the facts and even if they angered Hiei I had to let him know I wasn't completely ignorant, "You have every reason to kill me right here and now and walk away without the slightest remorse. I know that and quite frankly I don't think I have anything to say that could make you change your mind. But I'm asking you to give me a chance. Please, just let me stay and I'll do everything you say and I won't get in your way."

Just as the last syllable left my mouth I found myself once again pinned to the tree except this time Hiei's sword was firmly buried in the tree right by my face and I felt a warm liquid sliding down my cheek in a small but steady stream. It didn't take much time to realize that Hiei's sword had cut my face and Hiei was right there before me staring straight into my eyes. I had no choice but to stare into them and when I did I couldn't see any murderous intent……for the moment I was safe, but only for the moment.

"How is it you know all of this and how many have you told?" Hiei said in a tone that was dripping with murderous intent that hadn't yet reached his eyes. I would've been trembling in fear if I was unaware of what Hiei's way of thinking was like and since he was asking questions instead of killing me, I had the chance I was looking for.

"Well, I gathered that information on my own but as for how I did I can't tell you. I haven't told anyone and the only way you can confirm everything that I'm saying is the truth is believe that I wouldn't lie with your blade at my face. Believe it or not I'm not a big fan of dying and……I wouldn't dare lie to you," I answered him in a breath. I stared straight into those almond shaped eyes and nearly forgot about the blade at the side of my head as my mind began racing. What if he didn't take that as a good enough answer? Was I going to die right there at the hand of my all time favorite swordsman? And what if he wanted to ask more questions? Crap, why didn't I think about this BEFORE I sent him that damn note? I might've just saved my own life!

"I don't see any lies," Hiei muttered to himself stepping back. He effortlessly yanked the sword from the tree and sheathed it as I used the tree for support. Hiei turned his back on me for a moment before saying, "Fine. I'll allow you to stay. But you open your mouth one time and annoy me I will kill you without hesitation."

I completely froze and stared at his back in bewilderment. I was hoping he would give in but I hadn't planned on him giving in that soon and thus I couldn't even manage to say thank you without biting my tongue. Hiei looked over his shoulder with half expectant eyes and stared at my face. Finally I managed to bow before him and stammer out, "Th-thank you!"

"You're acting as if I just saved your life," Hiei sniffed in annoyance. He turned his back and said, "I'm not doing this for you. You have proved to be full of information I could use and I'm not going to pass up that opportunity. Wait here."

With that said the black clad apparition was gone so fast that I didn't even see him move. I let out a whistle and said, "If I was able to do that back home I would've had so much fun messing with everyone's heads."

"Are you regretting the gift?" a beautiful silk like voice suddenly echoed around me. I spun on my heel in surprise to see a figure standing between two thick tree trunks calmly waiting for my attention. I couldn't see much and the only way I knew the figure was a female was because of her voice. She was clad in a worn beige cloak and I was only able to see her bright yellow eyes that looked out from her shadowy face like a snake's eyes would. She straightened up and said, "I thought your other life was getting tedious and you often found yourself wishing for something……else."

"Who are you?" I couldn't keep the curiosity from my voice as I stared into those snake-like eyes. I felt something like malice as I looked into them but I couldn't bring myself to look away. It was as if I was in a trance with no way of breaking it. I swallowed and continued in a calm tone, "Was it you who brought me here?"

"You sound as if I cursed you. As for who I am……consider me a friend that you owe. I want nothing much in return but do remember that if you go against me, I'm a big fan of getting even," and with the she stepped back into the shadows and disappeared as if she wasn't even there.

"Man……I REALLY wanna learn how they do that. So freaking awesome…" I trailed off as I stared between the two trees.

"Do you often stand staring out into space and talk to yourself?" a voice asked from behind. I yelped and spun around not only to see Hiei standing there once again but Kurama as well. I felt my face burn and looked away as Hiei continued, "Before we trust you with anything tell us what you know."

"What I know huh? Well, besides the fact that your thieves I know that you're planning on breaking into Spirit World and stealing King Enma's favorite dark artifacts. As for your histories……let's say I know more than you probably want me to tell," I say with a small smile.

"You weren't lying Hiei……this one is different," Kurama coolly stated as he continued to stare at me with suspicious eyes.

"I'm not happy about trusting her but she does seem well informed," Hiei stated flatly as complete annoyance dripped from his voice. The impression he was try to make on me was clear. He didn't want me around but he'd rather have me close so I don't talk about the ice maiden he was searching for. As for Kurama……he still had that same passive look on his face that made it completely impossible for me to understand what he was thinking. Man, if I thought that was annoying in the manga it was even more annoying face to face. He was standing right there before me and yet I couldn't even detect a hint of anger, mistrust, or anything else he was possibly feeling against me.

"Um……" I trailed off not knowing exactly how to ask them what I was about to ask. They looked at me with expectant eyes and I sighed, "This is gonna sound random but……what time is it?"

Cue sweat-drop. Both Hiei and Kurama looked at me like I was a complete idiot before Kurama looked at his watch telling me it was late into the evening. I thought about it and opened my mouth to say something but Hiei was suddenly in front of me putting a piece of paper in my hands. I looked at him in utter confusion and I could hear the smile in Kurama's voice when he said, "We won't always be around but should you need to get in contact with either of us those addresses will suffice."

"Now I'm leaving," Hiei answered as he swiftly turned heel and disappeared into the woods.

"I'm sorry but I must go as well," Kurama agreed in a more polite tone as he too went on his own way.

"Well……two out of the three said yes……Now it's just a matter of living past Goki that's the trick, but I think I'll worry about that bridge when I cross it. Now I only have to worry about the essentials. Food, money, a place to sleep, clothes, and stuff like that isn't going to be easy and I can't impose on the Yukimura family until after Hiei and Yusuke's fight…" I mulled these things over in my mind as I looked down at the folded piece of paper Hiei shoved into my hands. I unfolded it and looked over the addresses to see that it was the street of the warehouse and……wait, was that Kurama's _home_ address? I think so……oh wow, Kurama gave me the home address.

I began walking towards the city street as the thoughts of living in the city raced through my head. I hadn't managed to think of anything usefully by the time I had made it back to where Yusuke's apartment was and I finally gave up admitting I would just have to wing it. I slunk over to Yusuke's bedroom window and stood up as high I could to peak in the room. Yusuke was lying there looking as if he was in a peaceful sleep. Atsuko's head curiously poked around the doorway every so often that after about five minutes I was able to time when she would look in.

After about ten minutes of looking around and not catching any sight of the soon to be Spirit Detective and the Grim Reaper I walked back to the street and strolled down the sidewalk. I found myself looking all over at the stores and nearly stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a music and book store packed into one. _'Just like home,'_ I thought with a smile as I imagined my normal self dragging my reluctant mother into the store where she knew her wallet would begin to cry.

"Man, being broke sucks," I sighed hanging my head.

"Hey! You pretty girl in the red tank!" someone called from behind me. I turned around to find a trio of strange guys approaching me in black school uniforms. Instantly I thought of a rival school gang and what Yusuke or Kuwabara would do to them if they found they were on their turf. Then it hit me that Kuwabara wasn't coming and Yusuke was a spirit which meant……I was on my own yet again.

"You better be talking to a ghost you pig because I don't react well to being hit on by boys like you," I answered coolly as they strode up.

"Ooooo, tough girl huh?" the tallest one with brown hair asked.

"Just they way the boss likes 'em," the middle guy with black hair laughed.

"Yeah, let's bring her back with us-" the shortest one with blonde hair began but I was quick to cut him off.

"Touch me and I'll break each of your freakin' noses," I hissed turning away from them. I began to continue forward but suddenly I felt the biggest one grab my wrist. I acted on complete instinct and when I spun around I thrust my palm straight up shattering the idiot's nose beneath the hit. As soon as my hand was free I bolted forward and began pushing my legs as fast as they would possibly go. I spun around four different corners before I came upon a road that I quickly remembered from one of my favorite scenes of the manga. I smiled happily and thought of the shelter the building I was heading for would provide me after recklessly punching one of those guys down.

I spun around the building and bolted into the large doors that protected the warehouse.

I ran in and quickly began searching for a place to hide. I quickly found a small little path through two large boxes and bolted straight into them without a second though. I moved back as far as I could and found that the way the boxes were placed allowed me to climb up them and get to a higher spot. I wasn't passing up a chance to hide, so I quickly scaled as high as I could and listened to see if those three guys were still following me. I strained my hearing and heaved a huge sigh of relief when I heard absolutely nothing. I rolled over onto my back and stared up at the darkened ceiling and finally the fact that I wasn't anywhere near my home sunk in. My family was gone, my house was gone, my friends were gone, and most importantly my old life was gone.

What was I going to do? Go through the entire manga and then what? Would I return home? Or would I end up stuck in the world of Yu-Yu Hakusho……forever? I gave and involuntary shudder at the mere thought of it. Not being able to go home…it was a very frightening thought.

CRASH!

"What the hell?!" I cried out jumping up from the box I stood on. I whipped around looking for the source of the noise but before I could catch sight of anything out of the ordinary something very heavy collided with the back of my head. Just as the world around me began to go black I felt my foot slip off the side of the box I stood on.

-------------

"_Urameshi………Urameshi must die. Kill him. Kill him when he's been weakened by the trio of thieves. Use them to your advantage and kill him when they've worn him down. Do not disappoint me,"_ a silk like voice echoed all around me.

"_Who are you? Why……do I have to kill Yusuke?" _I asked quietly. I tried to open my eyes but my eyes refused to obey me. My entire body was likewise refusing to move and I felt myself lying on something hard. My head was pounding and a strange sensation was moving through my mind. It felt like something was pushing aside memories in my mind and gently looking for something specific that they could not find.

"_Who are you?"_ another voice echoed through my mind. This voice was rougher and more urgent but it felt……safer than the other voice.

"_No,"_ I answered firmly. I bit my lip and continued in a determined tone, _"Get out of my mind! Now!"_

A blood curdling scream erupted all around me and it took a moment for me to realize that it was my voice. I was screaming……and then suddenly it all stopped and complete silence fell around me and the feeling of someone going through my mind immediately stopped.

-------------

"Nnnngggh," I groaned as my pounding head suddenly brought the world into a painful focus. The numb feeling that surrounded my body was receding and I found that I was laid on a hard floor……possibly concrete. My head rested on something that was reasonably soft and I could feel a light sheet had been laid over me as well. I turned my head and opened my eyes to see through my unfocused eyes that I still was in the warehouse and that a small box was put by my head with a note on top. I slowly sat up and picked up the note to see it was written in a neat and tidy scrawl.

'_No doubt Kurama's handwriting,'_ I thought as I opened the note to read it over.

_Rin,_

_Please excuse the sudden attack from behind that nearly took you from the boxes. We needed to see if we could get some information on you and Hiei used his evil-eye in hopes of learning something. Unfortunately for us, your mind is as heavily guarded as Hiei's or my own. So if we want information we'll just have to keep you around and ask. We also took into consideration that since you're alone and no home to return to that you needed a few things. There's money in the box and a few other things. The warehouse is a haven for you so use it as much as you want. We'll see you in a matter of days._

_Kurama_

_P.S. You've been out of it for five days. So you might want to make sure you're up to date on the happenings you seem so interested in._

"That cocky son of-" I started until I remember the dream I had……Kill Yusuke. What the heck was that about? And then the second voice……was that Hiei trying to get information? If so…did he manage to get anything at all and not tell Kurama? If he didn't get anything I'd be in good shape. I sat up and looked around to find a pair of jeans and a black tank right beside the box. I looked at it and thought for a second. The smell coming from the clothes…wasn't Kurama's scent but instead…it was Hiei's.

"Never mind," I said shaking my head as I jumped up and quickly changed. I folded up the sheet and my clothes to set them on the small pillow I was laying on. I went over to the box and started going through it to find basic things. Tooth brush, tooth paste, a hair brush, money, and things around that sort. After I was satisfied that I looked presentable I hid everything and left the warehouse looking for something to do. I sighed as I walked down the street and groaned, "Man, I didn't think it'd be this boring while Yusuke tried to come back. I don't have anything to do and there aren't any demons for me to fight either. Man this sucks."

Suddenly the tables turned and as I rounded the corner I found myself staring at the back of that rat-faced teacher of Kuwabara's……what was his name again…Oh yeah, Mr. Akashi. I looked forward to see Kuwabara standing before those three thugs that were really going to pound on him while he stuck to his part of the deal of no fighting. The one with jet black hair threw the first punch and all went to hell for Kuwabara as that pitiful excuse for a teacher just stood there and watched it. I felt my rage boiling up inside of me and suddenly my hand felt like it was on fire. I looked down to my hand and saw demonic flames all around it. The flames were glowing a dark radiant red as if they were itching to be thrown at someone and a sudden idea came to my head.

"Hm……Kuwabara promised he wouldn't fight but that doesn't mean someone can't get the point across to leave him alone. Starting with that bastard teacher," I growled reaching my right hand back like I was going to pitch a baseball and I took careful aim at the back of the teacher's head. I released a small growl as I chucked the ball of flaming energy forward and hissed, "Score!" when it slapped Mr. Rat-face in the back of the head. He stumbled forward a bit and began complaining of a very, very, very bad headache.

"That's what the jerk gets!" I smiled happily until a thought suddenly occurred to me. Yusuke was at one point watching the exact same thing I didn't remember when he left the scene. I slowly looked up to see both of them staring down at me with their eyes wide and their mouths hanging wide open. I laughed nervously and said, "And I'll be leaving now."

I spun on my heel and cut out around the corner into the crowded street. I quickly caught sight of Botan flying over head but she flew straight past me without taking the slightest notice. I followed the crowd for a while and then went to the river under the bridge and sat down. I looked down at my hand and said, "I threw a demonic fireball. I know it but……how do I do it again?"

The next few days passed in a boring fashion of me practicing with my new found powers under the bridge only to leave to get food and to go back to the warehouse to sleep. Every once in a while I would feel someone watching me as I walked along but I could never seem to find anyone to prove my suspicions. Apparently my paranoid nature followed me into this world as well. Then again I might not have been so paranoid as when sometimes I woke up there was more money, clothes, and one day there was a small bag of breakfast food lying there for me.

After finally being able to create a demonic shield large enough to protect five people and throw orbs made of fire, electricity, ice, and darkness, I left the river to go strolling around the streets to see what was going on. My feet instinctively took me to the school of Yusuke and Kuwabara's to see Okubo spreading the happy news about not losing his job and Kuwabara standing there completely stunned.

"I tried to stop him, not realizing I can't…I'm just surprised he heard me," Yusuke stated coolly as he floated over his rival/friend.

"I don't believe he did hear you," Botan said waving her finger.

"Huh? But…" Yusuke began to stutter completely confused.

"Your words, your voice, are insubstantial…but your feelings got through. That's what empathy's about. You cared about him and he 'heard' that," Botan clarified with her normal smile.

"I cared about Kuwabara? Don't gross me out!" Yusuke exclaimed adding an unnecessary gag to his voice as he spoke.

"I think it's sweet!" Botan purred in her cute voice making him even angrier than before. Botan made her trademark cat-face as she laughed and Yusuke finally turned his back on her in anger and frustration.

"If…I'd gone ahead and hit him…" Kuwabara muttered quietly to himself thoughtfully before he suddenly turned to face Yusuke and Botan as if he knew they were there.

"Hey, could he possibly…" Yusuke began to ponder.

"No," Botan answered firmly, "Like I said, maybe he somehow feels our presence……but that's it. We're still invisible and inaudible."

"…hey thanks," Kuwabara muttered staring Yusuke straight in the face even though he couldn't see the spirit of his fallen rival. Kuwabara then walked off as Yusuke began scratching the side of his face smiling at the gratitude he was shown. I stood there watching Kuwabara and his gang for a moment as Yusuke drifted off before realizing that Keiko should be walking back to Yusuke's house at that very moment to be intercepted by her friends.

"Let's see……I can grab a quick bite to eat and then try to follow Yusuke around while he does his monthly day visit to recharge his body," I said as I crossed the street to a small little food place and I quickly got something to renew my strength. I ran towards Yusuke's house and nearly tripped myself up as I looked through the window of his room. I felt the color drain from my face as I saw the bed was empty and all became deadly silent around me. "Did he already leave to gamble the day away?"

"You might want to turn around," Yusuke's voice slid from behind me.

"Shiznet," I whimpered as I slowly turned around to come face to face with the soon to be Spirit Detective.

"Who the hell are you? You've been following my friends around lately and I want to know what you did to that rat teacher," Yusuke growled staring straight at me. His brow furrowed and he growled, "Take off those glasses and let me see your face."

"I'd rather not," I said with a friendly smile, "I haven't done any harm so couldn't you just let me pass on my way and I won't have to tell anyone that I saw you out of the bed? That seems fair doesn't it?"

Yusuke's face stayed perfectly calm but I could tell what was coming and I braced myself for it. Seconds later I felt his fist connect with my jaw and I was sent reeling on my side in a matter of moments. Yusuke hadn't used his full strength in that punch because the pain in my jaw quickly began fading soon after I hit the ground and I was able to jump to my feet and dodge away from him. Not daring even the smallest back glance over my shoulder I bolted through the street and ran out toward the casino I knew he'd visit after he gave up looking for me. I finally caught sight of it and dived into the alley-way beside as Yusuke ran past.

"Apparently he didn't think it was such a fair trade," I whined holding my now bruised jaw. I sighed and looked around making sure Mr. Kick Your F-ing Ass wasn't around before I walked out into the open. I checked the side of the streets until I found the window of the casino and Yusuke's black haired-head sitting at a seat. I sighed and began to make way for the street that I knew the next confrontation would take place, "After a while of gambling Yusuke will take his prizes and learn that Keiko has been kidnapped and he'll be off to the rescue. What am I going to do in the meantime? Sit around and wait for the idiot to finally be resurrected?"

'_Kill Urameshi…Kill the pathetic excuse of a being…He's not fit to breath the same air as you and I,'_ that silk like voice echoed through my mind once again. I pinched the bridge of my nose and leaned against a nearby sign, trying to stop the sudden headache that came into my mind. I closed my eyes as my head began pounding and instantly I felt like I was going to pass out.

'_Why? Who are you and why do you tell me I have to kill him?' _I asked curiously. I waited for a moment but no one answered and my headache suddenly disappeared. I slowly opened my eyes and looked around to see that I was standing a ways down from where I wanted to be and Kuwabara was standing there learning about what happened to Keiko. I took a close look and saw Yusuke hidden around the corner eavesdropping on the whole thing and what he was going to do to help Keiko.

'_Kill him now! He is unaware and the simplest attack will bring him down! Do it now!'_ the voice hissed murderously throughout my mind.

"I will not!" I answered infuriated as I held my head, "Now leave me!"

"_KILL HIM!"_ the voice screamed out in my mind before I finally felt its presence leave me. I whipped my head around worriedly as if expecting the voice to reappear but what happened next nearly sent me into the hospital with heart failure.

"_Hey! Where are you?"_ this time it was Hiei's annoyed voice that broke through my head and it was clear that he was annoyed he couldn't find me.

"_Why do you ask? I wasn't aware that I had to be somewhere today,"_ I replied in an innocent tone. I knew it make him even madder but personally I thought it was funny.

"_Kurama figured that we should introduce you to Goki before we start to finish the plan of infiltrating Spirit World. He needs to know who not to kill when approaching humans,"_ Hiei's cool voice answered challenging me to get smart.

"_I see……when exactly do you want me to meet him?"_ I replied as I strolled away from the street. I moved to a nearby park and sat down on the bench continuing, _"If you want me to meet him today I guess I could find where you all are now."_

"_I'll send Kurama to find you. Where are you?"_ Hiei answered in a cold tone. It was clear that he wanted to get this over with and be done with it.

"_I can walk somewhere by myself thank you. Please be so kind as to tell me where you are and I'll get there in a short amount of time," _I answered politely back. It wasn't that I had anything against Kurama and if there was anyone of that group that I think would be the safest to walk with it would be him but I really wanted to see how fast my demonic legs can take me somewhere.

"_We'll be meeting in on the darker side of the city. Come there now and I'm sure you'll manage to find us without any further guidance," _Hiei answered in what sounded like a very, very smug tone. Then I felt him drop the connection and leave me sitting there with my arms crossed. I thought about it for a minute and whispered, "Something tells me that Hiei knows something I don't……I better have my guard up."

I slowly stood and looked around to see if anyone was watching me. When I was finally satisfied that no humans were watching me I jumped up and tore off towards the street with demonic speed. I felt the wind rush past me as I tore through the street and I leapt into the air to land on a nearby store roof. Without wanting to lose the momentum I had I leapt up once again and continued up until I stood on the rooftop of a business building. I stared out at the streets grinning from ear to ear and nearly was beside myself in the joy that I was gaining control over all the powers 'Rin' had been born with.

"Ok, enough fooling around. I need to go to where Hiei told me to be," I said looking around. As I looked I suddenly felt a huge surge of Demonic Energy explode from a ways south of where I stood. I spun around and tore off towards the energy and nearly called out in surprise when I was landed in an alley-way in less than five minutes. Still smiling smugly at the speed I now possessed I walked through the alley and came to a hidden area that would be highly favored for gangs.

"Well, well, well, who's come to join the feast?" I heard a voice ask from behind me. I turned on my heel to see Goki standing there with five human bodies on the ground at his feet. He was staring at me and said, "Women's souls are just as fun to eat as children's especially when they're young."

"You might want to cool it. I was sent for by Kurama and Hiei and I don't think they'll take kindly to you killing me for no apparent reason," I said trying to sound confident but I couldn't help but take a small step away from him. The freak was huge and the only people I'm used to seeing that tall is basketball players and I knew for sure they weren't demons that liked to eat people's souls. I swallowed my fear and continued, "I'm sure they warned you about my arrival."

"Maybe they did maybe they didn't. I can't remember and I can't get into trouble for things I can't remember," Goki laughed maniacally and he lunged forward with the intent to kill. I jumped back and conjured up the Spirit Shield I had been working on for so long and caught him against him. I almost smiled as I thought I had him but he began pounding relentlessly on the shield causing cracks to form. He laughed and said, "You aren't very skilled with your powers girl!"

"I'm not trying!" I hissed in an obvious lie. I quickly put my hand to the shield and just as I broke it myself, I threw a fireball right in his face. I rolled away and jumped up once again to see him thundering toward me. I conjured orbs of darkness to each of my hands and began relentlessly pelting one after the other at him hoping he would fall. I felt my heart instantly plummet when the cloud of darkness cleared to reveal Goki standing there with only a few minor injuries.

"You really need to practice with those powers," Goki laughed at me as he would a child who asked a question that was over their head.

"So what," I wheezed feeling the drain of the Spirit Energy I recklessly used. I glared at him and called, "Block this next one jackass!"

I ran forward focusing a good amount of my Spirit Energy in my fist and threw my fist forward determined to break that ugly jaw of his but suddenly vines came out of nowhere and quickly wrapped themselves around my wrists, ankles, and waist. I instantly recalled my Spirit Energy and stared at the vines in surprise as I heard footsteps coming from alley I had come from.

"That was definitely informative," a voice called out to me, "Now we have some knowledge of how you fight. Thank you for the demonstration Goki."

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_**ME:**_** And with that ends volume one of the manga and heading into volume two.**

_**Hiei:**_** You seem to be causing a lot of trouble around the place don't you?**

_**ME:**_** …you're not very nice Hiei. Oh and the next chapter should be fun because Yusuke is going to come back and then you know how hellish his life gets after that and I'm stuck in the middle of it all! Sorry if this chapter was boring. And I hope the scene where I nearly escaped Hiei's murderous wrath was worth the read!**

_**Hiei:**_** So the next chapter is when you actually might become of use to us.**

_**ME:**_** You mean the trio of thieves? Yeah……I can't wait to type out your fight with Yusuke…… (walks away. Everyone hears roaring laughter. Comes back) Ok then.**

_**Hiei:**_** WHACK! That was for what's most likely to come.**

_**ME:**_** Owowowowowo. If he keeps hitting me in the head like that I'll have so much brain damage that it'll be difficult to finish the story. Well, that is unless you review. With each review my mind will heal and great fight scenes are assured. So need I say it? Press that beautiful little button at the bottom of the screen and please review!**


	3. It's ALIVE!

_**ME:**_ **Hello peoples! I'm happy to see that this story is doing well for a self-insert. This gives me the thought that it's worth reading! And this chapter might help that because this is when the real action and killing starts! Wait……I just typed killing……uh-oh.**

_**Hiei:**_** What's wrong? Is the thought of your life being in danger scaring you?**

_**ME:**_** ……call me suicidal but no. Actually it's making me excited!**

_**Hiei:**_** ……damn it. She's another one like Yusuke.**

_**ME:**_** Yeah well, now we get to see Yusuke somewhere other than stalking people in his soul form. **_**(STALKER!)**_** SO let's not delay the fun any longer and continue the scene of me about to either trash Goki or get trashed. Disclaimer please? (Hands him a piece of paper.)**

_**Hiei:**_** (Looking at the paper) She says that if she owned Yu-Yu Hakusho that I would be the freaking awesome main character and Yusuke would be lucky to win as many fights as he does or come out of them relatively ok…(looks up at me) You're a little obsessed…**

_**ME:**_** (shrugging) A little obsession is good once in a while.**

_**Hiei:**_** Start the chapter before I knock you unconscious.**

_**ME:**_** Ok Lord of the Jagan-Eye! Chapter Start!**

**-------------**

_**Chapter 3: It's ALIVE!**_

"That was definitely informative," a voice called out to me, "Now we have some knowledge of how you fight. Thank you for the demonstration Goki."

"They planned it," I gasped in realization upon hearing the familiar voice. I looked over to the alleyway and saw Kurama walking forward with the conjoined end of the vines in his hand. Hiei slowly came up behind him with a smug smile on his face and looking at me as if I had made a complete and total fool of myself. Goki stepped away from me as Kurama walked up not loosening his hold on the vines and stopped a few feet away from me. Choosing to ignore this act of distrust, I looked toward the three and stated in monotone, "You had it all planned for me to fight him. That's why you let me come here on my own."

"Yes, we wanted to see how you fight," Kurama stated calmly as Goki and Hiei moved to stand on each side of him.

"And what exactly was your conclusion?" I asked conversationally as I shifted a little in the grip of the vines. The vines around my ankles tightened slightly and the ones wrapped around my wrist shifted uncomfortably twisting the skin of my wrist like one of my friends used to do while screeching, 'Indian Burn.' I winced slightly and felt Kurama's grip shift on the vines to make them stop. I nearly smiled at his kindness but I quickly decided against it with both Goki and Hiei standing there.

"You're completely reckless and it's clear your fighting style is rough and needs immediate refining. You had no clue what to do until you thought you were cornered and then you only were going to break Goki's jaw causing a mere distraction that would give you enough time to run and quickly escape the fight. I will admit that your demonic energy is powerful but you don't have even the slightest skill to control it. Overall you could easily be struck down in a fight," Hiei answered looking at me smugly. It was written all over his face that he was satisfied that Goki nearly kicked me to Neptune and back. I gave Hiei one of my trademark death glares but he only ran up to my face and pulled off the sunglasses covering my eyes. He jumped away and looked over the sunglasses stating, "One more thing. You look rather dim-witted with these on."

I stared at him completely stunned for a moment before feeling my blood boil up inside me and the tips of my ears start to burn like they usually do when I get angry. I could feel my temper burning and if I didn't get away from them I knew I was going to get myself into more trouble than I could handle. I closed my eyes and focused my irritation at the binds around my wrists, ankles, and waist and imagined them erupting into flames that would not harm me. Seconds later I heard Kurama give a startled cry and the binds released me to my feet. After landing smoothly on the ground I stood there for a moment to rebottle the flame that had been lit. I turned my back on the three before opening my eyes and said, "Well, you've had your fun and as much as I would like to stay for you to take cracks at me I have others things to do."

I began to make for the other alleyway but I suddenly stopped upon feeling something inside me freeze. I looked over my shoulder to see Hiei standing there with the cloth off of his third eye and him staring intently at my back. I turned around and said, "I take it that you have something else for me to hear?"

"If you don't like us judging your skills in battle than prove to us that you can fight. Try to summon your demonic energy to your aid and come at me," Hiei stated as his third eye opened even wider. I stared into his third eye in complete disbelief for a moment before I suddenly saw something flash within his third eye. I immediately looked away at seeing the back image of Yukina flash through the eye. I steadied my breathing and felt my demon energy surging through my entire body even though Hiei was doing everything he could to suppress my power within me.

"Fine, here I come!" I stated running forward. Hiei whipped out his katana and lunged forward to meet me halfway in the air. I once again called my energy to my hands and attempted to hit Hiei in the jaw but ended up only being able to block the tip of his blade with both hands.

"Hn……better," Hiei said as he began moving faster. I found myself continually stepping back catching his blade with both of my hands not being able to throw it away or send it back at him. He kept moving faster and faster and I was finding it harder and harder to catch his blade, let alone even try to fire another attack at him. My legs began shaking and I thought I was going to collapse when a sudden idea hit me. I purposely let my legs give out and as I fell back I threw Hiei's sword to the right and quickly grabbed the collar of his shirt. Surprise flashed in his eyes and I used his own weight and momentum against him to throw him clear over me. As soon as my hands released him I rolled over on my stomach and jumped up to send a punch at Hiei when I thought he was off guard. I finally thought I was going to land a hit on him when he suddenly spun in the air and grabbed my wrist.

"Oh no," I gasped realizing his plan. Yet, just as I realized it time seemed to slow as I searched for a way out and saw the sheath of his blade within my reach. Without even thinking about it I grabbed the sheath and whipped it up to catch the hilt of his sword that he was bring down on the back of my neck. The sword and sheathed clashed causing us both to become unsteady and both of us pushed away from the other to escape any other possible strategies. My back hit the ground hard and the force of the impact caused my head to crack against the pavement effectively smacking me into a daze. I laid there for a moment with my eyes closed releasing a small groan at the pounding in my head. When the haze finally cleared I remembered what my situation was and jumped to my feet ready to be on the defensive again.

"She's nearly as fast as Hiei is," I heard Kurama mutter quietly from the right.

"Yeah and my hearing's about as good as yours!" I said loudly as I looked towards where Hiei was standing.

"Your skills are still below adequate but only to a degree. A little more training and you might actually be able to do more than steal my sword's sheath," Hiei stated upon seeing my attention on him.

"I think I should take that as a compliment but I'm not entirely sure. If it is then it's not really needed because that was all on an impulse. I had absolutely none of that planned. I just didn't want you to knock me senseless," I said looking down at his sheath.

"This isn't over yet so you might not want to relax that guard yet," Hiei stated suddenly disappearing on the spot. I didn't even manage to take another breath before he was in front of me and sending a straight punch into my stomach knocking the wind clear out of me. I instantly crumbled from his blow and as soon as I had landed on my back Hiei's blade was at my throat. I felt like I was being suffocated as I tried to breathe and not get cut by his blade all at the same time. Hiei looked down at me in contempt and continued, "Lowering your guard for even the slightest second will result in your instant defeat and possible death. Never forget that."

"Well, it seems like she would've made a decent snack after all," Goki spoke for the first time in a long while. He crossed his arms and continued looking at me, "Her soul is definitely the kind that leaves a sweet after taste in the mouth."

"You're still not allowed to eat her soul Goki," Kurama stated moving over towards us. Hiei stepped back away from me and I sat up coughing. Kurama crouched down beside me to see if I was alright but his face suddenly froze in complete surprise and he looked at me with stunned eyes.

"W-what's with the look you're giving me?" I stuttered in breaths as I slightly moved away from him with the sheath still in my left hand.

"You don't even have a scratch on you. Besides that bandage on your arm you're completely unharmed even after fighting Hiei with his sword. Not many can walk away from a fight with him and claim they've managed such a feat," Kurama stated in surprise.

"Bandage……on my arm?" I stated looking to my arm. The bandage that the nurse had wrapped my arm up was still there even though it was sure to be alright now and I had completely forgotten all about it. I slapped my forehead and said, "Oh yeah, I got that by running from……uh……um never mind."

Kurama and Hiei gave me strange looks and I looked away scratching the side of me head. Great, just great! I just gave away a lot more than I had planned on and now there's a good chance Kurama and Hiei might inquire further. I looked down at the sheath I took from Hiei and began rubbing my thumb down the side of it trying to avoid eye contact. I sighed and slowly stood without accepting the help Kurama offered me and turned to face Hiei. I extended the sheath out to him and said, "I think you'll be needing this."

"I didn't even see you take it until you blocked the attack with it," Hiei stated taking the sheath from me without making eye contact. I stared at him stunned as my hand fell to my side and didn't even move as Kurama gave a slight chuckle.

"You're not even aware of how fast you two were moving are you?" Kurama asked rising to his feet. I shook my head and Kurama continued, "The speed wasn't anything less than what we expected from Hiei but it was surprising that you were able to keep up with it."

"So you two weren't exaggerating about her. She really could be of some use to us once we steal the artifacts. She looks like a human except for her eyes and we could easily use her to get inside information," Goki said turning his back on us. He looked over his shoulder, "I've seen her and now I'm off to go eat. Find me when we're ready to finish the plan."

Goki walked off and left me standing there with Hiei and Kurama. I turned to them to seem them still eyeing me suspiciously and I looked away wishing for something to distract them. Determined not to make anymore eye contact with them for a while I began unwrapping the bandage around my arm. I dropped it onto the ground and twisted my arm around before me to see that the scratches had almost completely healed. The marks were barely even there and it was as if nothing happened. _'I don't care what anyone thinks about it! Demonic healing is freaking awesome,'_ I smiled happily as I then turned to see Hiei and Kurama still staring at me with suspicious eyes. I was honestly beginning to think that I would have to walk away when Kurama finally made for the alleyway saying, "I have something I must attend to before I follow Goki to finish the plan. I'll see you both later."

He was gone before anything else could be said to him but that didn't stop Hiei from getting his two bits in, "Damn you, Kurama. Leaving me to tie up lose ends."

"Would those lose ends involve me?" I asked calmly as I stared at the spot Kurama just left. A sudden wave of exhaustion washed over me from the drain of demonic energy and I sat down to look up at Hiei expectantly. He looked down at me for a moment with an unfathomable look on his face before he turned his attention to his sword and its sheath.

"You won't be able to get into contact with us for a while and when we come back we'll have the artifacts. You'll sense when we're back and until then lie low. As soon as the artifacts are stolen they'll be sure to send people out and any demon will be fair game to them. Also, Kurama would like you to check on his human mother while we're away," Hiei said looking over his blade before he replaced it in his sheath. Then I heard him mutter very quietly under his breath, "The flower loving fox should've asked her instead of forcing me to."

"I think Kurama likes to mess with people's heads," I said smiling slightly.

"Hn……so you do have better hearing than him," Hiei noted calmly.

"I guess so. Well, if that's all there is than I'll be going back to the warehouse. I shouldn't expect any little helping gifts until you get back huh?" I said forcing the smile not to get any bigger as I looked into the apparition's face. He simply gave his trademark monosyllable and reached into his pocket to pull out and envelope. He tossed it carelessly to me and then took off so fast that I barely saw his feet leave the ground. I stood there slightly stunned for a moment before opening the envelope to see more money inside. My eyes would've bugged out of their sockets if they could as I pulled out a note written in none other than Hiei's scrawl.

_I noticed you were running low on money. This should tie you over until we get back. Do the three of us a favor and stay out of trouble._

I stared at the note in surprise for a moment before breaking into a smile. Even though the note was short and he was accusing me of getting into trouble it was considerate of him to give a reason for the money. I pocketed the money and looked around before leaping into the air and cutting out across the rooftops. It was so great to feel the wind rushing through my hair and feel the speed beneath my feet and I ended being so caught up in the rush that I barely stopped myself in time to see Yusuke, Botan, and that little girl ghost named Sayaka looking into the school to see Keiko walking down the hall. I stared at them in confusion from a nearby rooftop for a moment before snapping my fingers and saying, "Oh yeah! Sayaka is judging Yusuke and Keiko's relationship!"

"Yukimura, do you have a moment?" a young handsome student walked up on her from behind. She slowly turned around as the three nearby spirits leaned in closer to listen and she looked at the guy in a disinterested way. He cleared his throat and continued, "I'd been eyeing…I mean, thinking about you ever since school started. Would you…um like to go out with me? I can promise you a good time."

Yusuke nearly pressed his nose into the glass as he leaned closer to watch Keiko's reaction while Botan and Sayaka also began engrossed by the situation.

"I'm sure…and thank you…but no," Keiko answered kindly but in a final way that left the guy no chance for a rebound.

"What?! You mean you've already got a boyfriend…?!" he squeaked out in surprise at his rejection.

"Yeah," Keiko said nodding as a smile crept onto her face. Then she turned around and continued down the hall only to pause a moment to apologize to the guy.

"AW! Ain't young love wunnerful! Yusuke, you lucky dog!" Botan began laughing in her cutesy tone. Sayaka merely had a sour look all over her face as she stared down at the back of Keiko.

"That proves nothing! She didn't say who she liked! It could be Kuwabara for all we know!" Yusuke began defensively.

This led only to a fight and Botan attacked Yusuke shouting, "Fess up you idiot!"

Yusuke fought back being the stubborn moron he is and retaliated, "Ow!! Watch the nails you harpy!"

"Both of them are moronic imbeciles that need a good swat to the head. Oh well. Kurama, Hiei, and Goki will take care of that soon enough even though they'll take the loss," I said running past them in disinterest. I jumped from rooftop to rooftop looking for Kuwabara's house and nearly gave up until I saw Kuwabara fighting some group of ugly idiots just a ways down and around the corner from his house. I leapt into an alley and put my hand into my pocket looking for the sunglasses only to remember I didn't have them anymore. My jaw dropped open and I nearly shouted into the sky, "Damn you Hiei Jaganshi! You still have my glasses!"

I stomped my foot and growled at my own stupidity for a moment wishing I had asked for them back before Hiei left. After glowering at the ground for a minute or so I calmed myself down and turned around the corner to see Kuwabara enter his house with no scratches on him. I smiled and jumped up onto his roof to await the arrival of night when Keiko brought Yusuke there until Atsuko rented another apartment.

"Man am I beat! Taking that sparing session with Hiei completely wiped my energy dry! I'm beginning to think he did that on purpose," I yawned as I stared up into the blue sky. I yawned again and closed my eyes saying, "Closing my eyes won't hurt anything. I'll just wait up here."

I yawned again and tuned into the world around me to listen on all of the sounds in the neighborhood. I heard children playing and cars driving by playing the occasional deafening music and all the trees around me swaying rhythmically in the wind that blew. The wind was gentle and calm and I felt peaceful for the first time in a long while just lying back on the roof. So peaceful in fact, that soon the sounds dulled and I was pulled into a calm sleep.

-------------

"YO, SIS!" I suddenly heard a nasally voice shouting at the entrance of the house. I jumped to in surprise and barely caught myself from falling off the roof. I dug my nails down to get a decent grip and looked around wildly to just catch the back of Keiko's ash covered outfit entering the Kuwabara residence. I yawned and looked up to the sky seeing that it was already night.

"Jeeze……did I really fall asleep?" I said sitting up looking around the neighborhood. I stood and after shaking my head to make sure I was awake, I leapt away from the Kuwabara residence and sat down on a nearby roof. I stretched my arms above my head and listened to the conversation in Kuwabara's house to hear that his sister, Shizuru, was just about to cut Keiko's hair. I yawned again and laying back complained, "This is so boring! Come back to life already Mr. Twelve Percent On Tests before I get so bored I have to cause some harmless mayhem to stay awake!"

I smiled at the thought and sat up thinking of possible victims I could play pranks on. Time passed much quicker as I thought of ways to embarrass Keiko at school and ways to get Kuwabara in more fights than he ever had in one week and stuff around those lines. It wasn't long before Yusuke came soaring up screaming about what Koenma took from Keiko only to freeze as Keiko stood out in the night with Shizuru's clothes on and her hair cut.

"Guess I'm all set," Keiko said with a soft smile.

"Ok, and Urameshi can stay in my room for a while. Don't worry, my folks like to keep their noses out of stuff like this," Kuwabara said thinking over the situation.

"Thanks Kuwabara," Keiko smiled happily as Kuwabara's sister walked up.

"Keiko, was it? Would you like to stay and have dinner with us, meager as it'll be?" Shizuru asked with a friendly smile.

"Thank you but I have to do the shopping and go home," Keiko said bowing and turning away. I looked up to watch Yusuke nearly pulverize Koenma for scaring him so badly and then Yusuke sigh in exasperation. Yusuke just so happened to look down once again and caught sight of me sitting there and shot me a death glare.

I merely smiled and held up two fingers giving him the peace sign. Then I jumped up and took off as fast as I possibly could hoping he wouldn't follow. I allowed myself only the smallest glance back when I was a good five miles away to see that if Yusuke had followed he gave up. I stretched once again and feeling completely reenergized started bouncing from one foot to the other. I smiled at the dark sky and asked no one in particular, "So what can I do now?"

As soon as I posed the question Hiei's voice echoed through my mind reminding me that Kurama requested for me to keep his mother company. I shrugged and looked off towards the hospital and said, "If I walk there like a normal human would it'll be a decent hour and she'll be sure to be awake……Ok fine."

I leapt from the building and quickly made my way down the street. As I walked I kept glancing around as if expecting those creeps from earlier to come back but I never did meet them and I reached the hospital at around eleven. I walked in and went straight up to Shiori's room to find her taking a glass of water from the nurse. I quietly walked in and waved when she saw me.

"Ah Rin, it's nice to see you again," Shiori smiled as the nurse swept past me and out of the room. I walked over the chair by the bedside and sat down to look the woman over. She was much paler than when I first saw her and she even looked thinner than before too. My eyes were drawn to the scars all over her arm and she immediately seemed to notice this and said, "Shuichi was trying to get something off the top a cabinet in the kitchen and he fell off the stool causing some dishes to fall to the ground. Without even a second thought I ran forward and put myself between him and the broken glass below. Even though the scars don't really bother me I think Shuichi has never really forgiven himself for the incident and thinks it was his entire fault. I don't know what I can do to make him forget the incident."

"You can't do anything but continue loving him as you do. Don't worry. Shuichi isn't that thick headed. He'll come around," I said seriously looking her in eyes. We stared at each other for a moment before we both began smiling and then we just started laughing out of nowhere.

For the next few days I mostly waited around for the deadly trio in the hospital keeping Mrs. Minamino company and making her laugh at some of the stupidest things. A few days passed and I was helping her with a bowl she had when I suddenly felt a large feeling of triumph surge through the air. I nearly dropped the bowl as I sensed Goki, Kurama, and Hiei's demonic energy returned to the city in triumph. I quickly finished my job helping Mrs. Minamino and bowed to her in apology for leaving so suddenly. After she assured me it was fine I walked out of the hospital and bolted down the street looking for the three demons I now called my partners. I stopped on the sidewalk and tapped my foot impatiently as my eyes quickly scanned through the crowd looking for them, "Gah! Come on! How hard can it be to spot bright red hair and a huge freak with horns on his forehead? Not to mention the gravity defying black hair accompanying them!"

"Hey you," a calm cocky voice spoke from behind me. I turned around curiously and found myself face to face with Yusuke Urameshi the new Spirit Detective of the Underworld. He had the same cocky 'I'm-gonna-kick-your-butt' look on his face and I could sense his Spirit Energy around the same level as my own demonic energy.

"That's really depressing," I sighed shaking my head.

"What? That I'm going to beat you down right here in front of god and everybody?" Yusuke said with a confident smile.

"No that's not it. Anyway, I really don't have time to fight you right now and neither do you considering you should be looking for the trio of demons that broke into Spirit World. Now if you please I would like get back to what I was doing," I said turning my back on him only to sense his Spirit Energy raging angrily at me. I sighed and turned back around and said, "Listen I don't really want to fight-"

"But I do," Yusuke cut me off coldly, "I want to know what you were doing hanging around Keiko, my mom, and everyone else. What kind of demon are you?"

I sighed again and answered, "I guess Botan put two and two together for you. It doesn't really matter though. Why don't you get back to your job and I'll get back to mine and you can fight me at the end of the week?"

"Yeah right. I'm taking you down right here and now!" Yusuke growled stubbornly as he readied himself for a fight.

"What part of 'no' don't you get?" I hissed angrily as I released a large amount of my demonic energy into the air. Yusuke staggered back for a moment at the feeling of the demonic energy and I turned my back to see the three demons I was looking for staring at me. I moved across the street with ease and fell into stride with them as if nothing happened. I heard Yusuke stutter something and out of the corner of my eye I saw him look over at us.

"What was that all about?" Goki said as we moved towards the clearing where Yusuke would soon follow, "You could've easily brought him down there and all you did was cause him to stumble back."

"I'm not in any mood to fight right now," I answered quietly looking straight ahead of us. _'Yeah right. He would've beat me to a bloody freaking pulp damn it!'_ I thought with a sour expression. We quickly entered the woods and walked to the clearing before all three of them brought forth the artifacts they stole. I walked over to a tree and sat down at the base of it while they began looking fondly over the artifacts.

"Ha ha ha, with the three great dark treasures we stole from the Underworld we can perpetrate some delicious nastiness here in the human world," Hiei laughed as he swung the Conjuring Blade in front of him. Goki smiled at the Rapacious Orb he held and Kurama merely fingered the Mirror of Darkness with a thoughtful look on his face.

"I'm a little fuzzy on everything the artifacts can do. Would you mind giving some enlightenment?" I asked making myself look interested. Even though I knew full well what the items they had could do I thought humoring them would be the smartest thing to do.

"The Conjuring Blade can turn any human it cuts into a demon, Goki's Rapacious orb sucks human souls, and Kurama holds the Mirror of Darkness, which emits great power under the full moon. I can create an army of man-eating beasts with this sword…" Hiei smirked at the blade in his hands.

"Which I'll feed with the souls I'll suck with this orb," Goki said lightly throwing the orb up and down in his hand without letting out of his control for even the slightest second.

"It sounds like a lot of evil fun. I'm happy you've allowed me to be in on it," I said with a half-hearted smile.

"Well, you guys have fun," Kurama suddenly stated looking at the three of us. His eyes lingered on my face for a moment and I couldn't help but reveal the small smile that crept onto my face. I bowed my head and his eyes flashed when he realized I knew what he was going to use the Mirror of Darkness for.

"What does that mean? Are you bailing out on us?!" Hiei asked in a rage. He glared at his comrade as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"That's right," Kurama answered in a calm tone of indifference. I could tell by the tone in his voice that he wasn't really bothered by backing out but there was a hurt sound in his voice. If I hadn't known what he was going to do I would be concerned for him but since I knew how it would all work out I wasn't really bothered by it.

"Wimp. You've gone soft since you've started living with the humans," Hiei sneered in contempt at his comrade.

"Don't think you can just walk off with a split of the loot. Give us that mirror. It seems trusting it to Rin would've been a smarter choice after all," Goki said extending his hand for the mirror. I looked up in surprise to hear my name dragged into this and Kurama flashed me an equally surprised look that I returned by glaring at the back of Goki's head as he faced away from me. Kurama stayed silent for a moment and while he still was looking at me I mouthed, 'Take it and leave!'

"I'll keep it, thanks. I need it for something," Kurama answered in a calm tone.

Goki's face darkened as he stepped directly in front of Kurama with a murderous looking face. He pulled back one of his huge fists and growled, "You always had a smart mouth, and it's been asking for this!"

"Go ahead bozo!" a voice suddenly shouted from directly in front of all us. Goki immediately froze and all of us looked up to see Yusuke Urameshi standing there between two trees. He was smiling confidently as he continued, "How about this: I take all three treasures and you guys save me some trouble by taking each other out."

"How do you know about the treasures?!" Goki stuttered in surprise.

"Who are you?!" Hiei snapped angrily as Kurama and I stayed quiet just looking at the new arrival.

"Get this, clowns! I'm Yusuke Urameshi, the Underworld Detective, and you're under arrest!" he called pointing at himself with his thumb.

"Underworld Detective?" Goki repeated curiously.

"Must be their new bounty hunter…!" Hiei mused thoughtfully.

"More like their new dog," I said calmly as I stood. I leaned against the tree I was sitting against and continued, "They'll be expecting him to bring back the treasures and the demons who took them."

"Hey it's you!" Yusuke shouted finally taking real notice of me. At first he sent a death glare at me until he thought about it for a moment and began smiling as he continued, "Oh this is perfect! I get to do my job and have a pleasure fight all at the same time! You better have your last words written 'cause I'm gonna trash you!"

"So you say you're going to kill me? You really are a dog of the Underworld," I said calmly as a smug smile reached my lips. I shrugged him off and said, "So you want to fight me and the rest of this group? Good luck is all I'm going to say."

"Strange…he emanates no power to speak of," Hiei noted looking over Yusuke.

"And his defenses are pitiful. You could off this guy in one stroke," Goki said with a smug and kind of relieved smile.

"_Still, the Underworld chose him for this. He's arrogant enough…and may have hidden qualities. Don't let your guard down if you chose to stay,"_ Hiei's voice hissed warningly through my mind. Then as if he had springs on his feet he leapt into the air and said, "If you are trouble, it'll keep!!"

"WHOA! He jumped clear outta here!" Yusuke called completely surprised. Kurama swiftly turned his back on Yusuke and started walking away as Yusuke went after him saying, "Hey, hold it!"

Goki slid easily in front of him and said, "You hold it. Won't take three of us to deal with you. They want to run off, fine, but I accept your challenge. If you want the loot, come and get it. Heh."

"I think I'll want a better seat for this," I said to no one in particular as I leapt up and sat down on a tree branch.

"You're staying for the show?" Goki asked looking up at me.

"Yes, I am. I think this is worth watching," I said looking at Yusuke instead of Goki. I shifted myself on the branch but almost fell off as I saw Goki pull out the Rapacious Orb to eat that small child's soul. I instantly dug my nails into the branch in anger and glared at Goki as he put the soul in his mouth. I could just imagine that that soul he was eating was one from one of the little kids I would always baby-sit back home and my own rage nearly got the better of me until Yusuke slugged the mess out of him releasing the soul. I let out a long breath and calmed myself down before even daring to look back at the fight once again.

When I finally gained control over my temper and was able to safely watch, Goki was now in his demon form and Yusuke was on the ground before him not moving at all. Goki looked ready to land a finishing strike on Yusuke when I heard Botan-who was disguising her voice to sound like a guy-call out, "Hey guys, sounds like someone's over there!"

"Yo! We got a fire and lotsa beer! Come over to our camp!" Botan called making her voice even more deeper than before.

"Damn partiers. Heading this way. I'm not in the mood. Take heed of this lesson, human, and don't bother us again. That is, if you value your life!" Goki laughed as he disappeared into the trees. Yusuke's head fell face first into the ground, clearly unconscious and Botan came running up seconds later.

"Oh Yusuke! I told Koenma this wasn't a good idea and now look at you!" Botan fussed as she pulled his arm over her shoulder.

"Don't worry. He's stronger than you give him credit for," I called from the tree causing her to jump and look up in terror. I slid off the branch and landed on the ground before them saying, "He'll come to sometime tomorrow. Listen……could you give him a message for me when he wakes up?"

"What is it?" Botan asked suspiciously.

"I'm rooting for him. He better kick Goki's ass into the ground. Any bastard that'll feast on the souls of harmless children deserves to burn and die," I said turning my back on her.

"Wait! You mean you don't agree with Goki?" Botan stuttered confused, "You actually……are speaking with human sentiments……"

"Good luck," I answered running straight through the trees and out of her sight. I quickly made my way to the city and didn't stop running until I reached the hospital. I stared at the entrance breathing hard and almost fell to the side because of the wicked head rush I had.

"I figured you would come here since you already know what I intend to do with the Mirror of Darkness," I heard Kurama's voice say from behind me.

"Hold on……let me get my head back for a minute," I said holding my head.

"That tends to happen when you run off somewhere too fast even if you're a demon," Kurama chuckled softly.

"Why does everyone find my pain amusing?" I asked straightening up. I turned to Kurama and continued, "So what do you plan to happen after you use the mirror? I mean sure she'll be alright and all that but……"

"That's why I was hoping I would catch you before the full moon. After it all happens……I need you to-"

"Don't you dare ask me what I think you're going to," I snapped angrily at him. I looked around and when I was satisfied that no one could possibly be listening in I continued in a murderous hiss, "Don't you dare ask me to go to your mother and tell her that her son is dead! Don't you dare make me be the bearer of bad news……and why the hell would you even think of asking me that?!"

"She seems to like you. She talks about you a lot and it seems that if anyone should break the news to her it should be you. My mother clearly thinks high of you and you don't seem to be like most demons thinking human sentiments are foolish. I just thought-"

"Well you thought wrong! Listen……I couldn't tell her that. I just couldn't. But…I don't think you need to worry about that to much though. It's just……a feeling I have," I smiled at him effectively shutting him up. I turned away from him and before bolting on to a nearby roof called, "Don't think about it too much but you might want to tell the Underworld Detective about the treasure!"

I was quickly on the roof after that and running towards the warehouse shaking my head vigorously. Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot, IDIOT! Why the bloody hell can't I keep my mouth shut in times like this?! Kurama as good as knows that something's going to happen when he tries to use the Mirror of Darkness now! Still beating the crap out of myself mentally I leapt into the warehouse through a shattered window only to get slammed onto the ground by a knee in the back. I lied on the ground for a moment with my face in the cement before jumping up and swing my foot to make a straight right kick that slammed someone's chest throwing them from me. There was a startled grunt and then the sound of a sword meeting the ground.

"Aw shiznet, I just kicked Hiei," I whispered slapping myself in the forehead. I looked to my right and saw Hiei slightly hunched over with one hand on his chest and another on the hilt of the Conjuring Blade. I continuously hit my forehead with the side of my fist and said, "I'm sorry Hiei. I wasn't expecting a surprise attack."

"You caught me off guard that's all! Don't think you can do it again!" Hiei snapped angrily as he began breathing more steadily.

"I really don't think I could even if I tried. As you said I merely caught you off guard and I'm no fan of hitting cheap shots," I said calmly but as I tried to take a calming breath everything in my body seemed to freeze. I stood there for a moment unable to breathe or anything and then the next I found myself on the ground with my vision blurring. And within the next few seconds black.

-------------

"Damn," I wheezed feeling my back on the cool concrete. I coughed in a raspy voice and felt my head on something soft……it was the pillow I was using before! I attempted to sit up but pain shot through my entire back and I fell against the ground once again. I slowly opened my eyes and stared up at the huge warehouse ceiling in defeat. I sighed and whispered, "That was one wicked kick you gave me."

"Hn……it temporarily shut down your lungs. Not enough to kill you but long enough to render you complete worthless and an easy target to take down," Hiei's voice echoed from a little ways from my head. I heard him give a snort and continue, "Don't you dare complain about it either. You managed to leave a mark where you kicked me."

"I think you're only telling me that as a sort of 'Hiei-apology' you know?" I said once again attempting to sit up. This time I ignored the pain and sat all the way up while Hiei gave the trademark monosyllable yet again. Usually I would've been irritated with someone who kept doing that to me back home but here I just found it……comical. Yes, I found it comical. So much in fact I just started laughing despite the pain in my back.

"Did that temporary lack of oxygen affect you mental stability?" Hiei sneered at me.

"No……I just thought of something…" I sighed and looked down at the ground thinking back on my home……it was really affecting my mood thinking about home so I quickly asked, "So how long have I been out?"

"Three days. The blow to your back must've been a little more dangerous than I thought," Hiei said as he began to remove the cloth from his third eye. He closed his red eyes to allow the third eye more free range and I knew he was checking up on the status of his comrades. He frowned in an annoyed way and growled, "Goki made a fatal mistake at the last minute and Kurama succumbed to inane sentiment……That's it! No more high-end demons for partners! I'll make sure my next allies are trustworthy! With this sword I'll create an army of monsters that will listen to me and obey me! But first, I want the other two Dark Treasures, and Yusuke Urameshi's head on a spit!"

"I suppose I count as chopped liver to you. Oh well, it doesn't really matter though because I don't think you'd want any information I may happen to know on how to lure Yusuke right into your web," I said as I began to stand with my back to him. I heard him give a sudden movement and I immediately knew he had stood up intently listening to what I was saying, "Anyway I guess giving you the name Keiko Yukimura wouldn't really do anything even though she is Yusuke's childhood friend and she happens to be very important to him."

Instantly I heard his feet move and when I turned back to where I heard him he was gone. I smiled contently and walked towards the entrance knowing Yusuke would follow quickly after when Hiei entered the warehouse. As soon as I saw the doors I jumped up and sat down on a high stack of boxes and waited. I was surprised that I didn't have to wait long as Hiei appeared throwing Keiko into the arms of two humans he changed. I clapped my hands and said, "And now the curtain shall part to reveal the grand finale of the Dark Artifacts War."

"You sound entertained," Hiei noted calmly as a strange little smile curved at his lips. Was he actually beginning to warm up to me? The smile suggested it but……what happened if I could no longer give him helpful information? Would he cut me down or……would he keep me around? These thoughts were interrupted as he said, "The Underworld's dog will be arriving at any given moment. Do not interfere with the fight, or I will cut you down."

"I wouldn't dream of it," I smiled as he made his minions hide in the shadows. He jumped up to stand beside me and I said, "I really can't wait to see you fight against him. I'm a sucker for a good fight."

"Hn……why doesn't that surprise me?" Hiei stated as we both felt Yusuke's rage surge only a little ways from the warehouse.

"He's here," I said sitting in a position that allowed me the ability to run if need be. After all, since I was here the story was bound to change just enough to accommodate me and well……he could attack me first and I don't care if we're evenly matched at the moment I was NOT taking any damage that I could avoid!

It was then that I heard the doors crash open and it was clear that Yusuke was already taking care of the minions Hiei sent out after him.

-------------

_**ME:**_** Well, now this is going to be fun. Personally this is one of my favorite scenes from the whole Manga and Anime. And that's why I'm going to have a lot of fun typing it and I might make the fight scene a little longer. Do you think I should branch off what really is there and have a bit longer fight? Please review and tell me!**

_**Hiei:**_** Temporarily stopping your lungs to knock you out…where did you come up with that?**

_**ME:**_** (Off thinking about the soon to come fight scene and then snaps back into reality……or fantasy…whatever!) Um……honestly I made it all up so it probably could never happen.**

_**Hiei:**_** Hn.**

_**ME:**_** Why is it that every time I hear him 'Hn' it makes me want to laugh? Oh well, Hiei is still my all time fav character. Oh and could you please review? I had like thirty hits on the second chapter and only one review. Please people review! I need feedback!**


	4. FIGHT!

_**ME:**_** (Bounces in all happy and energetic like) What's up?!**

_**Hiei:**_** Ah hell, what are you so happy about?**

_**ME:**_** (Leans close to him) I'm finally getting to type the fight scene where you would've totally kicked ass had Kurama not taken a cheap shot in blinding you. It's one of my fav scenes of both the Manga and Anime.**

_**Hiei:**_** (Doesn't move but looks like he's going to kill me) Something tells me your fav scenes from the Manga and Anime have to deal with me.**

_**ME:**_** BINGO! Correct guess! One of my all time favs is when you're in demon world and you say, "Wake me up when it's all over," and then you just fall asleep where you stand. I really wish I could be able to do that. It would get me out of so many problems that I seem to get into.**

_**Hiei:**_** ……do the world a favor and go get your head checked.**

_**ME:**_** Probably wouldn't do much good. **

_**Hiei:**_** ……damn……Anyway she doesn't own Yu-Yu Hakusho and she's now become obsessed with buying all of the DVDs she can to get the entire series.**

_**ME:**_** I would be more obsessed if I had more money to pay for it all. But with school books and supplies I'm wiped clean for now. Dang……let's start the chapter before I get even more depressed. I only own my character and my opinions.**

_**Hiei:**_** She said her own disclaimer again……Well alright then. Chapter Start.**

**-------------**

_**Chapter 4: FIGHT!**_

"He's here," I said sitting in a position that allowed me the ability to run if need be. After all, since I was here the story was bound to change just enough to accommodate me and well……he could attack me first and I don't care if we're evenly matched at the moment I was NOT taking any damage that I could avoid!

It was then that I heard the doors crash open and it was clear that Yusuke was already taking care of the minions Hiei sent out after him.

"I don't have time for goons!" Yusuke roared angrily as he slugged the possessed humans clean out of his way. He ran up just below where we sat and shouted at Hiei, "C'mon creep! Show yourself!"

I snickered softly as Hiei unwrapped the cloth from around his third eye and whispered quietly to him with a smile, "He has no idea how creepy you can be. He hasn't even seen you when you're powered up and transformed."

"Remind me after this fight to make you tell me how _you_ know about that," Hiei answered as he let the cloth drop beside me. He quickly pulled out the Conjuring Blade and readied himself for the fight. He gave me another side glance and continued, "You seem to know a little too much when it comes to this sort of thing."

"Right……it may slip my mind to remind you though," I stated with a nervous laugh. I looked up at him and continued, "I can be very forgetful at times."

"It won't slip my mind," Hiei once again answered coldly. I sighed and hit my forehead with the palm of my hand. There was no use in trying to argue. If I tired he'd just kill me first and then deal with Yusuke.

"Oh my…these are ordinary people under mind control," Botan said paling as she looked over the people Yusuke knocked aside.

"Demons, Human Zombies…Doesn't matter! Bring 'em on! I'll pulverize 'em!" Yusuke roared angrily as he raised a fighter's fist before him. Beside me I heard Hiei make a strange noise in the back of his throat and after listening to it for a moment I figured out he was snickering! Hiei Jaganshi was snickering! Put that down in the record books! It's a flippin' miracle! Um……moving on yet again.

"He's controlling so many at once…Does Hiei have use of the Evil Eye?" Botan stuttered becoming even paler.

"He does!" Hiei called out from beside me causing both of them to instantly look up at us. Hiei quickly disappeared from my side and the next time any of us saw him he was standing before Yusuke with the Conjuring Blade in his hands. Two of his goons stepped out from behind him and they were supporting the unconscious Keiko between both of them. Little ugly demonic minions rested on Hiei's cloaked shoulders as he continued talking while tapping his nails on the Conjuring Blade, "Up close, I see you're just a weedy nothing. It makes me furious to think how much trouble you've been. Yet you're the 'Official' Underworld Detective, huh? Big deal. You don't stand a chance against me."

It was then I noticed that actually sitting on a stack of crates watching the scene unravel before me really gave me a different perspective of everything that was happening. I leaned forward a bit to rest my elbows on my knees and put my head in my hands thinking about what Hiei said. A smile twisted at my lips as I said, _"Careful Hiei or you just might start sounding like a cocky human."_

"_Hn, he's no match for my power,"_ Hiei answered in the same tone in which he used to speak with Yusuke.

"_Right. Remember that,"_ I said simply as I sat back a little feeling my hand brush the cloth Hiei used to cover his third eye. I rolled my eyes and picked it up as Yusuke called out to Keiko trying to wake her up. It was then that I really noticed that Hiei was acting like a real cocky bastard just standing there toying with Yusuke as if he were a child. Now Hiei is my all time favorite character of this entire Manga but I forgot how freakin' cocky he was when he was fighting Yusuke. I nearly laughed at the thought of the kick in the ego he was about to receive. Yet……that was banished when I thought of what Hiei might do to me if he found out that I knew what was going to happen and I wasn't heading the trouble off at the pass for him……that was a pain I did NOT want to experience anytime soon.

"Interesting…you're still sane after a look at my Evil Eye. Guess you have some spiritual fortitude. Must be what the Underworld's counting on," Hiei mused with no emotion in his voice. He kept his face completely emotionless except for the trace of a cocky smirk that just didn't seem to leave his mouth as he stared smugly at the teenager in front of him.

"Shut up! Let's get down to business! Here're the treasures! Release Keiko!" Yusuke pulled the Rapacious Orb and the Mirror of Darkness from his jacket and tossed them onto the ground before him. Then he met Hiei's eyes and tried to fix him with the deadliest glare he could but Hiei merely smirked in reply shrugging off the supposed effect. It wasn't like Hiei would be affected by that kind of look anyway but it was easily sending chills to race up and down my spine.

"Why sure. No problem. The game's only worth playing if you follow the rules," Hiei motioned with his arm for the controlled humans to toss Keiko aside and they both threw her forward on the ground far away from the other two Dark Treasures. Both Hiei and Yusuke moved forward towards their goals and Botan and I stayed back waiting for each of them to make it their desired destinations. They both stopped in perfect unison and Botan quickly ran to Yusuke and they both began fretting over her while I sat motionless on my perch carefully taking in all the details of everything that was happening. Hiei picked up the treasures and looked them over saying, "They're the real thing. Heh heh, I was going to do away with Goki and Kurama myself and take their treasures. Then I would've dealt with a certain demoness hanging around in the way I saw fit. This way, you've saved me the trouble."

"Think so? Ha! You're a bigger moron that you look!" Yusuke laughed as he stood up to face Hiei. His face then turned serious and he ran forward with his fist at ready shouting, "We did the deal! Now all bets are off! I'll have your ass and the treasures!"

Hiei looked at him with disinterest as Yusuke's fist came closer and closer to his face looking as if it were going to connect with his jaw. I strained my eyes as much as I possibly could and was rewarded by just catching sight of when Hiei leapt away to leave his afterimage to take Yusuke's hit instead of himself. My jaw dropped in surprise as Hiei calmly leapt away when Yusuke's attack was mere milliseconds away from connecting with him. It was amazing to watch as he doubled back with ease and calmly waited for Yusuke to realize that he hadn't landed the hit and just like clockwork Yusuke whipped his head around saying, "Where is he? Where'd he go?"

"Just over here. It was an easy dodge. So that's your idea of a surprise attack? No surprise how sluggish it was. You called me a moron……but who looks moronic now, eh?" Hiei laughed as he pointed over at Keiko's unconscious form. Both Yusuke and Botan whipped back to look at Keiko as I stood up and jumped down from the boxes and landed behind Hiei as he continued, "Did you think I'd just give the girl back in a straight swap?! You idiot! Take a look at her forehead!"

"Huh?" Yusuke bent back down over Keiko and moved the hair from her face so he could get a proper look at what Hiei was laughing about.

"Don't get cocky," I whispered quietly, "This human is different from ones you've met before Hiei. I know you're strong but give his own abilities some consideration before you judge him too hastily."

"Hn, he won't beat me," Hiei answered equally quiet, "You're beginning to annoy me with all these pathetic warnings. So stand back or I might see fit to strike you down here and now."

"Whatever you say," I whispered as I stepped back away from Hiei. I would honestly be lying if I said that I wasn't trying to help Hiei but I didn't really want to mess up the story line either. I just wanted to see a longer fight and one that would be fun to watch. Call me violent but my favorite part of the entire series was the fight scenes with Hiei and Yusuke in them. Those two just made for great violence and their nature of fighting made it all the more fun to watch. I could only imagine the sights I would see before the end of all this and just the thought made me smile in excitement……I must have problems after all……Enough ranting back to watching the fight.

"Ha ha ha, I returned her, as promised……but her fate is in my hands!" Hiei laughed cruelly as Keiko's third eye began to open. Hiei pointed at them and continued, "Ha ha! She'll have the honor of being my first slave! Once that eye opens fully she'll be under my demon thrall!"

Botan immediately jumped forward with her white magic and tried her hardest to suppress the demonification that's was taking place within Keiko's body. Yusuke looked at her concerned as she gasped, "Unh…I'll try to hold this back. Take Hiei down Yusuke…"

"Your friend can suppress demonification without Holy Water? I've rarely seen such sophisticated white magic!" Hiei said in a tone that revealed he was slightly impressed. Yusuke turned to Hiei and fixed him with a deadly glare that caused me to step a bit to the side for what I knew was coming next. Yet completely oblivious to the rage boiling up inside Yusuke Hiei continued, "But without Holy Water to help her, the toll it's taking on her must be incredible! She won't be able to sustain such effort for long! Okay, now we can get down to it! A life-or-death game of cat and mouse! The only thing that can save that girl is the antidote contained in the hilt of this sword! All you have to do is take it from me! As if you could manage it in a hundred years-"

Yusuke suddenly moved so quickly from where he stood that I could barely even watch what he was doing. He was in front of Hiei in an instant and without even the slightest hesitation delivered a heavy hook to the face that sent Hiei reeling back with barely any clue to what had hit him. I stared at Yusuke with wide-eyes as he rounded on me and lunged forward to strike me back as well. Out of instinct I let out a startled yelp and barely brought my arms up in time to defend against the flurry of punches he pelted at me. I felt each of his attacks slam into my arms like rocks and I stepped back trying to get him to relent but he was far from it. My arms were taking the full force of each impact and I could already start to feel the bruises that were going to form because of it.

"Pick your fights one at a time Urameshi!" I hissed stepping back enough to avoid another wave of attacks and throw my hand before me to create a shield of my demonic energy between us. Without missing a beat he instantly punched the shield attempting to get rid of it but I pushed him back causing him to stumble away from me and the shield. I quickly leapt back behind Hiei as he straightened up wiping the blood from his jaw and stepped out of the fire lanes. If I stayed behind Hiei and out of reach I would be able to save myself from any more untold outbursts that would be directed at me.

"He was on me in an instant and he even had the intent of striking Rin down after striking me back. How could…who the hell are you…?!" Hiei asked slightly startled as Yusuke straightened up to glare at both of us.

"I'm the guy who's gonna mangle you two for what you did to Keiko," he answered in pure monotone. It's not like he had to sound angry anyway. I could tell just by looking in his eyes how freakin' pissed he was. If I hadn't already planned to bail out when he took down Hiei I would've been freaking out like no tomorrow. I've never seen a look like the one Yusuke was giving and it actually made me shiver……and that takes a lot because I'm the fighter of my friends. I'm used to death looks but……I DID NOT like the way Yusuke's glaring at me! There's only one thing I can say……Epp!

"So you're the sort who rises to the occasion when a friend's in need……Blasted Annoying! That's the type of human I hate the most!" Hiei growled as he straightened up in front of me. Then he looked over Yusuke with a smirk and continued in a smug tone, "But you didn't take the sword from me right then…a mistake! My guard is up and will stay up! No way you're getting the antidote! The girl's third eye will open and there's no stopping it! She will be my demon slave!"

"So you say," Yusuke answered dryly.

"So I _KNOW_! You're fast but my speed is beyond imagination!" Hiei shouted disappearing from sight as a smile curled at my lips. Despite however fast Hiei was it didn't change the fact that he was going to end up getting beat by Yusuke using his own body against him. Well……I'm not telling him that because I actually like my head intact and on my shoulders thank you and Hiei would swiftly take care of that if I even suggested that he'd lose to Yusuke. Hiei commenced leaping from place to place with such incredible speed that it was hard to follow but I could barely keep myself from laughing as he hopped around looking somewhat-due to his size-an overgrown rabbit. He laughed and continued, "You see?! You can't even follow my afterimage!"

"_Or so he thinks,"_ I said telepathically to Kurama, who I knew was listening as he quickly made his way there.

"_How'd you-"_ he began surprised but I quickly cut him off so as not to miss the fight.

"_I sensed you because I'm not so worried about fighting the cocky bastard known as Yusuke. Just hurry up and when you finally get here, watch until you're needed. I'm not telling anyone you're coming,"_ I answered moving away from the crates I knew Kurama would soon use to make his entrance. Instead I moved over to the wall where Hiei would throw his cloak and the Dark Treasures and waited patiently for the scene to go further.

Hiei continued maneuvering all around Yusuke until finally Yusuke looked up and let yet another punch slam right into its target sending Hiei flying back once more. Yusuke looked at Hiei cockily and said, "That's it? You scurry around like a rat until I wallop you? Can't say I'm impressed with you or that evil eye of yours. But never mind…Let's finish it!"

"Curse it all!" Hiei snapped angrily as he glared at Yusuke with a look that could rip a soul apart. He stood up and pulled off his cloak continuing, "I never thought I'd have to transform to fight you!"

He threw his cloak over behind me with the treasures and Hiei's demonic energy suddenly spiked. His skin slowly began turning a dark shade of green and the third eye opened wider on his forehead and he grit his teeth while more of his power surged all around the room. Suddenly slits began appearing all over his skin and they grew wider soon opening up into evil eyes that almost covered his entire body. Hiei straightened up completely transformed and Botan let out a small cry as Hiei's power steadily continued rising making it even harder for her to suppress the demonic energy forming within Keiko. I slightly stepped back towards the wall as his energy collided yet again with mine causing me to become short on breath. It was as if his energy was purposely trying to suppress my own to show me that there was no way I could ever fight him and I could only try to regain my breath as I watched the fight.

"Keiko! Botan!" Yusuke called out to them as he heard Botan's cry.

"Her third eye is reacting to mine. Heh heh, the girl's as good as demonified," Hiei laughed coldly as he stared at Yusuke with his third eye effectively binding him where he stood. Yusuke stuttered in confusion while Hiei laughed at him cruelly and then he glanced back at me saying with mocking concern, "What's wrong? By the look on your face it seems you can't breathe properly or that this form disturbs you!"

"Oh no. I'm always used to meeting people with green skin and eyes all over their bodies as they shamelessly emit large waves of demonic energy," I spat in annoyance as I worked to push his energy away from my own.

"Hn," Hiei replied to me turning his gaze back to Yusuke with a satisfied look, "Of course the girl is the least of your worries now!"

Hiei lunged forward on his last word and began mercilessly pounding his fists into Yusuke like he was a simple punching back. After landing a series of cheap shots Hiei stepped back with a smug smirk and laughed, "Excellent! Not even you could escape the binding curse cast by all my Evil Eyes! Now I will have satisfaction!"

Hiei once again began relentlessly pounding the mess out of the defenseless Yusuke and I couldn't help but wish I could fight like either of them. They both would soon be able to beat down anyone who came in their way and I'd probably be stuck on the sidelines like Botan or Keiko……I wanted to be able to help them……but would I be much help in a fight? My thoughts were suddenly interrupted once again as Hiei readied the Conjuring Blade before him saying, "Now you see the difference in our abilities. Still for a human you put up a good fight! Out of respect I'll finish you with one stroke. DIE!"

Hiei ran forward with murderous intent flashing in his eyes but just as he went to deliver the final blow a red haired blur went speeding out from behind a stack of crates and stopped right in front of Hiei taking the hit in Yusuke's stead. Kurama flinched as the blade went straight through his back and Hiei's face froze in complete surprise. He stared at Kurama as if he couldn't understand what the red head just did and stammered, "Kurama?! Are you out of your mind?! You took my killing stroke! How did you……Rin! You sensed him coming didn't you?! That's why you moved over to the treasures!"

I refused to give even the slightest answer as Kurama cupped a handful of his own blood and tossed it into Hiei's third eye. Hiei growled in fury as he stepped back trying to clear his eye and Yusuke quickly regained control over his body once again. Even though his third eye was temporarily disabled Hiei growled at me, _"I was so engrossed in my fight that I didn't sense him approach. Why didn't you warn me?"_

"_Because you told me not to interfere. And plus I thought you would've sensed his close presence when you powered up,"_ I answered calmly trying not to let him think I was laughing or that I found the situation relatively amusing……which I kinda did. But I wasn't going to let him know that or I just might lose my head……literally.

"_I swear when this is over I'm going to rip your throat out like I should've done when we first met and be done with it!"_ Hiei snapped angrily at me as he continued trying to rub the blood from his eyes.

"_I can aid you if you wish,"_ I offered apologetically to him.

"Kurama! You traitor! You won't get away with this! I'll massacre you! And then you're next Rin!" Hiei roared in anger as his rage erupted into the air. I stepped back towards the wall a bit and I couldn't help but look a little worried as he glared at Yusuke. He shook of his threats at Kurama and me and lunged at Yusuke shouting, "I'll kill you now, human! And I'll make sure you're dead!"

Yet another fight ensued as Kurama made his way over to Botan to give Keiko the antidote. Kurama effortlessly pulled the blade from his stomach and handed it over to Botan for her to get the antidote. I flinched as I looked at the wound and he looked over at me with a curiously look. Botan hurriedly began administering the antidote while I tried to direct my attention away from Kurama's piercing stare but unlike Botan have succeeded in her task, I horribly failed my own. After Botan was finished she looked up at Kurama and followed his glance to stare at me making matters for me only that much worse. Not knowing what to say or how to get them to look away I turned my attention over to Hiei and Yusuke to see Hiei jumping at him shouting, "Ha ha ha! Now you die!"

"Not just yet, Jerk!" Yusuke shouted firing off his Rei (Spirit) Gun Blast. Hiei's eyes got bigger than they usually are and he just managed to jump over the attack like he was playing a game of leap-frog. It harmlessly passed him and instead went soaring straight back behind me and into the glass of the Mirror of Darkness. I turned around halfway as the two continued their useless battle banter and stared at the mirror's glass to see it reflect back at them and myself at an odd angle. The glass shone a brilliant white as the light began seeping from it but suddenly instead of one light shooting out from the mirror, two blasts shot out at different angles aiming for two targets. The first went straight past me heading straight for Hiei's back while the other……slammed itself deeply into my stomach.

Upon impact I was instantly sent reeling back through my memory to when I fell back off one of the really tall barstools we had in my house when I was five and landing flat on my back getting the wind knocked clean out of me. My lungs constricted themselves just like they had back then and I found myself unable to take in even the slightest breath. I crumbled onto my side and pressed my forehead against the cool concrete floor trying to get myself breathing again. Slowly but surely I began regaining my ability to breathe and I looked up to see the attack hurl itself right into the middle of Hiei's back causing me to flinch just watching it.

"I'm hit?!" he coughed in complete surprise. I saw him glance back and his eyes widened as he looked from the mirror and then to my stunned form on the ground in pain.

"I told you he was different," I whispered not knowing if he could hear me or not. He began to fall forward unconscious and Yusuke stuck his foot out to catch him clean in the face like he did in the manga. As if I was suddenly reenergized, I leapt up despite the horrible twinge gnawing at my stomach and I sped up to them catching Hiei by his side and curling my fingers tightly around Yusuke's ankle. I gasped at the effort it took with the wound I had but I looked between Hiei and Yusuke saying, "I think losing to you is enough. Let's keep further blows to his pride at a minimum shall we?"

"How……" Yusuke stared at my stomach where his Rei Bullet hit me.

"How am I up and moving? Good question. I can't even answer that. Hiei's stronger than I am and he didn't even last that attack," I gasped out falling to my knees. I laid Hiei on his side and pulled out the cloth for his third eye. I lightly tied the cloth around his wrist for him to get when he woke up and sat back away from both of them holding my injured stomach.

"Heh……I didn't really think I would have to fight you right after Hiei," Yusuke said leaning against the wall. He looked at me and continued cockily, "I would've been able to take you at the beginning of all this but now……I'm dead tired. I don't think I can fight you now."

"You don't have to," I answered standing. I pressed my hand in my stomach to ease the pain and continued, "I'm not interested in the treasures. Take them. I was just along to see what would happen."

With that I turned away from him and began making for the door but Botan stepped in front of me with a serious look on her face. I froze on the spot and I caught sight of Kurama casting a curious glance at her as she said, "You are also wanted by Lord Koenma for being in league with the thieves even if you didn't steal the artifacts yourself. You have to come back with me for interrogation."

"Pick your fight wisely. Your two fighters are both down with serious injuries and you don't have enough power to even take me wounded. Not to mention I could easily grab Keiko and use her as a captive once again. Now step aside and forget about taking me in," I answered pleasantly to her but I fixed her with a look that caused her to flinch slightly and step back. Without giving her a chance to change her mind or let Yusuke move to stop me, I ran through the doors and out of the warehouse as fast as my legs could possibly take me. I was going so fast that as I ran down the street humans didn't even really know I was there until I suddenly stopped to use a wall for support.

"That was some hit," I coughed biting my lip. I sighed and leaned against the wall and began wishing I had jumped out of the way instead of taking the hit. I growled angrily and hissed, "Now how the bloody heck am I going to get to Genkai's now?"

It was then that I felt my right ear give a slight twitch as I heard a low undertone voice whisper, "Yes, I heard Rando is going to take the old hag's attack and go on a major killing spree in this very city. That'll leave us plenty of fun!"

"Oooooo! Sounds deliciously evil!" a slightly higher pitched voice answered with a laugh. A smile curled at my lips as I reached just at the top of the wall I was leaning against and felt my fingers wrap tightly around a very small figure. I brought one of them down to my eye-level to see a smaller and much uglier yellow version of the ogre that follows Koenma's orders. He had long black hair and four horns that protruded the skin on his forehead. He wore brown cloth as clothes and he had beady coal black eyes that stared up at me in fear.

"So you know about Genkai's estate I take it?" I hissed quietly as I tightened my grip on the little demon.

"Ah! Yes I do! I'll take you there! Just don't kill me!" the demon in my hand squeaked in its high pitched tone.

"Good and if I get there in one piece I might just let you go without any injuries," I growled tightening my grip once again around the demon. He let out a small little cry of pain before holding up his hand to show me a little red sphere. I picked it up between my thumb and pointer finger and looked over it asking, "What is this going to do?"

"Just tell the sphere where you want to go and then break it on the ground. A portal will open and take you straight there," the demon gasped at me as I moved away from the wall and into an alley.

"You aren't trying to trick me are you? I'm not in a good mood at the moment and tricking me wouldn't be wise," I hissed as I completely hid in the shadows of the alleyway. I smiled evilly at the demon and continued, "You'd be a good demon to misplace some of my aggression on."

"I swear I'm not trying to trick you!" the demon squeaked in a terrified tone. I nodded and threw the sphere on the ground telling it where I wanted to go. Just as the sphere crashed on the ground a portal instantly opened before me in a flash of light and the image of Genkai's estate shone clear in the portal. I released the demon who scurried away but before I could even move an inch I heard scuffling behind me and then a very familiar voice say my name curiously.

"Rin?" I turned around to see Kurama standing there holding his own stomach wound and looking a little tired but otherwise staring curiously at me. He wasted no time getting to the point and asked, "Why did you just suddenly abandon Hiei like that……I thought you were his new comrade. Why didn't you interfere with the fight?"

"I really didn't want to be arrested thank you and Hiei threatened my life if I interfered with the fight. Why did you come after me anyway? Didn't they close the case when I left?" I asked looking at him curiously.

"Temporarily closed until you resurface again……How is your wound?" Kurama asked conversationally trying to look over my shoulder at the portal behind me. I moved in front of the portal blocking it from his sight and waited to see if he would say anything else but he didn't.

"I'm ok. Worry about your own problems. For instance worry about your trial before you worry about an unimportant little demon who keeps straying in and out of your path," I said turning away from him and walking towards the portal. I stopped when I was halfway through the portal and smiled over my shoulder saying, "Anyway, you're not rid of me yet and neither is Yusuke. We'll be seeing one another soon. See ya!"

With that said I leapt forward into the portal as it closed behind me and landed at the entrance of Genkai's estate. I took a deep breath and still clutching my wounded stomach, I walked into the courtyard to see the old woman sitting on the stairs sipping on a cup of tea. She barely took notice of me as I entered and this gave me a chance to get a closer look at the woman who would basically train Yusuke on how to use that Rei Gun to its ultimate strength.

"Are……are you Master Genkai?" I asked quietly as I stopped quite a few yards from her. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously and the wrinkles on her face tightened as she gave me another more intent look over. I could sense her use her Spirit Energy to determine the level of my own and she seemed to be very tense as she tried to determine if I was a threat.

"What if I am?" Genkai sniffed when she came to the decision that she could easily strike me down. She continued sipping her tea as she continued, "If you're here for the disciple trials come back in a few days."

"I was wondering if you would allow me to watch the trials. I do not wish to participate but I would like to watch a master such as yourself chose who shall receive their skills," I said bowing slightly but ended up biting my lip as my stomach seared in pain from the wound.

"You're injured……from an ill-refined Rei Bullet from the looks of it. Still, there seems to have been a lot of power used in that attack even if it is ill-refined. Tell me. Who hit you with that attack?" Genkai dodged as if I hadn't said anything. I bit my lip once again but this time it was to keep any annoyed comments in the back of my throat where they belonged. I knew that I had to play her game and if I irritated her right off I had a very slim chance of actually getting what I wanted.

"Please allow me to sit in and watch the trials," I repeated as if she hadn't taken any notice of the wound on my stomach. I made sure my tone was not demanding but not pleading either. I had to make it sound like it was nothing important to me but I had to be persistent or she wouldn't help me.

"You know how to play the game……Fine, I'll make you a deal. You and I are going to have a sparring match. If I win, you tell me who injured you. If you win, I'll allow you to sit in and watch the trials," Genkai said placing her cup down and rising up from the stairs. She walked down the stairs with her hands behind her back and stood just a few feet in front of me. Standing there I couldn't help but take notice-not matter how trivial it was I noticed-of how short she was compared to me. I actually came up to Kurama's shoulder and Hiei-hair included-about came up to my mouth and that meant……Genkai was REALLY short! Yet……I've learned very valuable lessons from short people in this world and my own. Short people are the ones who really pack a wallop that can send anyone straight to the ground face first. That's the exact case in which Genkai was presenting me with and I know that she knows it!

"I don't think that's a fair bet. I'm not so over confident to think that I would be able to beat you in a fight, even if it's a friendly sparring match," I said thinking of just how badly she could wipe the floor with my sorry ass. I'm not a coward and I don't run away from challenges but I also don't get myself in over my head. A fight against Genkai would ultimately end in my defeat and I was big enough to admit it.

"You could just leave now," Genkai said giving a slight yawn.

"Fine," I snapped angrily as I stepped into a fighting stance that evenly supported all of my weight and kept my guard up at the same time.

"Well……you're not a complete idiot," Genkai noted as she brought out her hand and right of the bat attacked me with her Spirit Shotgun attack. I instantly knew that with its wide range trying to dodge it would end up with me getting hit yet again with another Spirit Attack. I put my right hand in front of me and called forth the Demonic Shield to take the hits instead and worked to keep it strong. It was barely deployed before the hits start pounding into it and I quickly felt my power diminishing as I struggled to keep it up. I bit my lip and with the next bullet that hit the shield I moved forward causing a ricochet that sent the attack right back in Genkai's face. Of course she wouldn't be the master she was if she couldn't dodge that and the next thing I knew she was right in front of me with the shield behind her and an evil smile was curling at her lips.

I didn't even have time to react before she delivered one swift punch to my stomach and I fell forward completely caught off guard. I instantly hit the ground like a ton of falling bricks and found that I couldn't even call in the slightest breath to my lungs. I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead against the ground as the world around me slid out of focus and I fell into darkness.

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It was strange to wake up feeling as comfortable as I was after being thrown into this strange alternate reality. I found I was in a soft bed and a large blanket was draped over me keeping me quite warm. Rays from the sun were beating down on my face and even though I didn't open my eyes I knew that I was lying somewhere within Genkai's home. I heard a lot of voices from outside and it suddenly hit me that the day of the trials had come up when I was asleep. I shot into a sitting position and opened my eyes to see that the room was simple and most likely made for last minute guests like me. I pulled off the covers to see I was in a different shirt and I felt that my stomach had been wrapped up in bandages. The shirt was red with a black dragon wrapping all around it with black flames sprouting all around. I jumped out of the bed to see I was still in my jeans and my slip-on shoes were over by the door. I quickly pulled my hair back into a hair-tie and opened the door to enter a very long and quiet hallway. Ignoring the annoying but painful twinge in my stomach I put on my shoes and bolted out further into the hall looking for the arcade in which Genkai would take the people who passed the first test.

I was just about to think that I'd have to walk around aimlessly until I found them but I suddenly walked up to a hallway that opened up just in front of Genkai and the group she was leading. I stopped in front of them and saw Genkai smirk before she said in a voice dripping with mock concern, "So she is alive and decides to walk among us. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to end up burying you after I landed that hit."

"I told you ahead of time what was going to happen," I said with a forced smile as I stared down into her smug face. She just had this look in her eyes that completely annoyed me and the smirk on her face hinted that she knew this fact too. I sighed and was about to step aside when I heard a startled noise come from behind her. I looked up to see Yusuke running at me tossing his bag into Kuwabara's confused and startled arms. He quickly moved past everyone in the group and I leapt away from Genkai as he attempted to connect a strong punch with my face. My stomach screamed in protest and I gasped, "Oh come on! I haven't done anything yet!"

"What's going on Urameshi? Why are you attacking her?" Kuwabara shouted out angrily as he moved to stop his friend/rival.

"Did you think I would let you get away with what you did to Keiko?!" Yusuke growled at me through clenched teeth as he attempted to punch me yet again but this time instead of stepping back I grab both of his fists with my hands. We stood there before the group and I never looked away from Yusuke in fear that he would manage to throw me off and attack.

"I didn't do anything to Keiko! That was all Hiei! You have to believe me!" I said trying to keep the confrontation as peaceful as I possibly could. I winced as my stomach seared again and this time instead of fighting back I simply fell to my knees basically giving Yusuke the chance to pound me into the ground. Yusuke stepped back in surprise and I held my stomach laughing slightly. I looked up at him and asked, "What? Are you surprised your attack did this much damage?"

"_His_ attack?" Genkai's brow furrowed as she looked at Yusuke with disbelief shining in her eyes. I nodded and she stared at me for a moment before continuing, "Stop attacking her. Anything that happened between you two in the past has nothing to deal with what's happening now."

"Grrrr……fine," Yusuke backed off grudgingly. It was clear by the look on his face that he wanted to beat my head in but instead he held out a hand to help me up which I took with a few hesitations. I stood up and looked over to Genkai while Yusuke said, "What are you doing here anyway?"

"She's a witness to the trials for choosing my disciple. Now if this little drama has come to an end let's get going with the second test shall we?" Genkai stated coolly as Yusuke stepped aside to allow her to pass. She continued down the hall and I moved to walk beside her wondering what I should say to offer some explanation for what had just happened. Suddenly Genkai saved me the trouble and whispered so only I could hear her, "I think that after all of this is done you should tell me what has happened between you and that punk."

"You better be real comfortable when that time comes because it'll take a while," I whispered back as we came upon the arcade. Genkai opened the doors for them and I walked over to a wall and leaned against it as she began to explain what the games were for. Soon all of them were off in a flash and Genkai moved to watch them while they began the games. I pushed away from the wall and walked over to the punching game as Kuwabara and Yusuke began challenging one another. It was one thing to watch Kuwabara and Yusuke in the anime and read it in the manga but it was a totally different thing to actually watch it happen before your eyes. Even though Yusuke won the punching battle it was amazing to watch both of the punch the bag so hard that it nearly fell off the machine. I whistled and when they both looked back at me I said, "Remind me not to give either of you more reasons to kill me."

"I…I don't hit girls," Kuwabara stuttered as Yusuke merely glared at me, "It's against my Honor Code."

"How nice but you might want to change that Honor Code. One of these days you're going to have to fight a female and if you refuse she could very well kill you," I smiled challengingly at Kuwabara causing him to look down. Then I looked at Yusuke and said, "That slug to my jaw wasn't anywhere near that powerful. You were holding back on me."

"I was but if I meet you in another fight it won't happen again," Yusuke answered in a tone full of distrust.

"I know and that's why I'm not going to cause an unnecessary confrontation with you," I said stepping back to show I meant it. He shrugged me off and continued on with his challenge with Kuwabara and Genkai came over to me to add her two bits.

"You really pissed that one off. His Spirit Energy boils every time you come into his line of sight," Genkai said looking at me.

"I know……I'm working on talking him down to just have a strong dislike for me but that's not going well," I sighed as they all finished up the last of the games. Before I knew it we were just outside the Cursed Forest and Genkai was telling them all what they had to do. I sighed and slowly began stretching out my legs and getting ready for the run I knew I was just about to do.

"Ready. Set…GO! I'll meet you at the tree!" Genkai said suddenly bolting off away from all of the stunned people who wanted to learn her techniques. I was the first to move as I bolted off trying to keep as close to her as I could but just as we got really deep into the trees she began pulling ahead of me with ease.

"How the heck is she that freakin' fast?! I don't care if she is a master at her age she should be lounging back having someone else doing this!" I griped as I struggled to push my tiring legs to their limit to keep her within my sights. I looked up to see her getting further and further away and finally my clumsy nature finally caught up with me causing me to trip over a nearby tree root. I crashed onto the ground in an instant and laid there for a minute trying make sure I didn't do anything to my ankle when it got caught up. After a moment or so I slowly sat up and looked down at my ankle to sigh in relief. It was just temporarily hurt and it wasn't swelling up at all.

"Well what the hell am I supposed to do now? I have no real sense of direction to be proud of and I was merely following her earlier," I sighed completely exasperated as my klutz like nature. I grabbed the sides of my head and shouted, "I'm so freakin' screwed now!"

"Who's there?!" a nasally voice called out from behind me. I slapped my forehead in annoyance and even though I knew it was completely useless I found myself wishing that I was hearing things and that no one was coming up behind. I glanced over my shoulder though to see a certain frizzy haired teenager walking up behind me. He stared at me for a minute before saying, "You lost her didn't you?"

I gave a soft snort and turned away from him to stand up. I began testing my ankle to see if I could walk but whenever I put any weight on it, it seared angrily in protest. I growled and leaned against a nearby tree debating on what I was going to do next when Kuwabara walked up and looked down at my ankle.

"Is your ankle ok?" Kuwabara asked worriedly looking at how I was favoring it.

"I'm fine. It's just a little sore," I said looking around the woods trying to figure out where I should go from there.

"Maybe I should help you," Kuwabara offered but I shook my head.

"I said I'm fine!" I snapped putting my full weight down on my ankle. It seared in protest but I didn't flinch as it finally struck me that no matter how much of an annoyance he was, Kuwabara was still the first person who made it to Genkai. I pinched the bridge of my nose and growled at myself before saying, "Well……maybe I need just a little help. I can walk on my own but as for any sense of direction……let's just say I'm not as good as some others."

"Well, I know where I'm going. Why don't you stay with me and we'll get there quicker?" Kuwabara said smiling like the idiot he's known for.

"Give me a direction," I said with a smile. Once he did I smiled wider and said, "Well, let's have a race. See you there."

I spun on my heel and tore off in the direction he told me but just as I thought I had lost him he passed me up and looked over his shoulder saying, "You're fast but I'm used to running in gym class."

"Fine. Just remember you challenged me!" I said as I sprinted forward using the demonic speed boost that I had watched Hiei use before. I flew right past him towards the area he directed and the rest of the run was completely silent until we burst from the trees right into the clearing where Genkai stood waiting for people. Kuwabara nearly wet himself over being first while I sat down against the tree and closed my eyes. I wasn't going to let either of them know but my stomach was really beginning to bother me and cause a lot of pain. Although I didn't say anything I quickly figured out that Genkai knew I was in pain because she kept glancing over her shoulder. She was probably wondering if I was still conscious but she never spoke a word as more and more people came up until all the finalists except Yusuke were there.

"Time's up!" Genkai stated flatly until Kuwabara made her look over to trees where Yusuke was walking up. Once again he startled all of the people-including Genkai-when he showed that he caught the demon and Genkai allowed him in. I stood as she turned her back and said, "And now the fourth test!"

"……didn't think I'd need one. Lemme think," Genkai said causing every single one of the finalists-save myself-to anime fall.

"Talk about unprepared!" I said slapping my forehead, "How could you not be ready in the event someone actually exceeded your expectations?"

"Honestly I didn't think anyone would be sharp enough to get this far," Genkai shrugged this time causing me to anime fall with the rest.

"You're kidding me. You're absolutely kidding me," I said repeatedly slapping my forehead. I sat back up and looked over at her saying, "You stupid old hag!"

"That's Master Hag to you," Genkai looked over at me with a smug smile.

"You give me headaches!" I growled pressing my fingers into the sides of my head. I looked at her and hissed, "Headaches, headaches, and more headaches."

"I wouldn't fight with me if I were you. After all I let you watch the trials even though I won the fight," Genkai stated flatly effectively shutting me up. Then it was suddenly like a light bulb lit up over her head and she said, "Ha! I've got it now. Time for the Fourth Test!"

"About time," I muttered stubbornly even though I knew I was pressing my luck. Genkai acted as if she didn't hear me and I sighed knowing she was going to get me back later. Somehow, someway, she was going to get me back and I knew it was going to be painful. I could already start to feel the bruises that were going to be inflicted on my body and my pride.

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_**ME:**_** Well, that's it for chapter four. I hope it was worth the read.**

_**Hiei:**_** It took you eight pages just to type out the fight between Yusuke and me.**

_**ME:**_** Yeah and I really hope that it wasn't bad. I decided to mainly stick with the story and I think it turned out ok. I just can't wait until the story goes further. Also in case anyone has noticed I try to type a lot for each chapter. I don't know why but I like reading long chapters in stories and I hate typing out short chapters. I purposely try to make them long.**

_**Hiei:**_** Yes, and sometimes your ability to catch grammatical errors slips because of it.**

_**ME:**_** Ouch. Hiei that really hurt. Oh well I guess I'll get over it won't I? Oh and with the beginning of the next chapter we'll be in the fourth volume of the manga! This is so much fun!**

_**Hiei:**_** Have you been eating sugar again?**

_**ME:**_** ……I'll give you some rocky road ice cream if you don't tell anyone.**

_**Hiei:**_** (Looks at me for a moment) Deal.**

_**ME:**_** Follow me. We have to jib my brother for it so come on. (We both walk off with the intent of stealing from my brother) Review people! Please!**


	5. How Hags Get Their Kicks

_**ME:**_** Wow. I'm feeling really happy right now. I mean I've gotten two different people who have told me this is a captivating Fanfic and someone even said it 'freakin' rocks'. I love writing this story and I'm happy people like reading this!**

_**Hiei:**_** Don't get cocky. The second you get overconfident is the second that the story will lose the element that keeps people reading.**

_**ME:**_** ……You're right……thank you for the smack in the head to reality. Oh and Hiei did you enjoy the ice cream we jibbed from my brother?**

_**Hiei:**_** Hn…**

_**ME:**_** I take that as a yes. Alright people! It's awesome! The beginning of this chapter puts us right at the beginning of the fourth Manga volume! **

_**Hiei:**_** Since there are nineteen volumes of the Manga are there going to be nineteen chapters to this story?**

_**ME:**_** Psh! Yeah right. I wouldn't be able to bring that together even if you paid me. I just have way too much creativity to be limited to less than Twenty chapters of a Yu-Yu Hakusho story! Now please say the disclaimer so we can get on with the story!**

_**Hiei:**_** She only owns her character Rin Ishida.**

_**ME:**_** Honestly if I owned Yu-Yu Hakusho do you think I'd be here on fanfiction typing out an "I wish" thing? If so and someone is gonna sue me I'll counter sue!**

_**Hiei:**_** Cut the ramblings and get on with the story. (Smacks me in the head)**

_**ME:**_** Ow! Abusive! (Sees his glare) Ok fine Chapter Start!**

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_This has nothing to do with the chapter but I LOVE the song that Hiei and Kurama sing together! Wild Wind is such a freakin' awesome song! I LOVE IT! (Rant over and real chapter start.)_

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_**Chapter 5: How Hags Get Their Kicks**_

"About time," I muttered stubbornly even though I knew I was pressing my luck. Genkai acted as if she didn't hear me and I sighed knowing she was going to get me back later. Somehow, someway, she was going to get me back and I knew it was going to be painful. I could already start to feel the bruises that were going to be inflicted on my body and my pride.

"Ok, the fourth test will involve actual combat! Follow me to the battle arena," Genkai turned her back on us all and began walking with the expectation of us following her. Everyone except for Yusuke, Kuwabara, and me immediately followed. We followed quickly behind them but we allowed a respectable distance between ourselves and the group. I moved to stay behind Kuwabara and Yusuke but the frizzy haired oaf turned around and began to make conversation. The very thing I was dreading at the moment.

"That was some amazing speed back there. How'd you move so fast?" Kuwabara asked looking at me. He whistled when he looked at my ankle and continued, "And with a twisted ankle! It was amazing!"

"……" I looked past him to see Yusuke glowering at me from behind his back. I swallowed and looked down at my feet. Jeeze! I didn't know he was one to keep such a grudge……then again he doesn't trust me and I was in league with Hiei……maybe I should try to break the ice and at least put us on decent non-killing terms. I looked up at Kuwabara and said, "I've had a little training to be fast. It helps in fights."

"Yeah to run around like a scurrying rat like another demon we know," Yusuke muttered quietly as we followed the main group. I looked up and saw that we were within sight of the battle arena but still had a decent ways to walk. If I wanted to get him on decent terms with me it would be best to do so before Botan came up and interrupted with 'Lord Koenma wants this' or something along the like.

"Um……Yusuke……" I started out cautiously trying to see his reaction to me addressing him. He looked over his shoulder still in an annoyed way but it was clear that he would listen to what I had to say. Feeling slightly better at that fact I quickly continued, "You have absolutely every right to be angry with me but I was wondering if it was possible to bury the hatchet between you and I. I don't expect a friendship but maybe we could be on non-fighting terms?"

Yusuke stopped in his tracks and Kuwabara walked straight past us not anticipating the abrupt stop. I stopped a few feet away from Yusuke for my own safety reasons and looked up into his stare. I could literally see Yusuke mulling it over in his head and thinking through all of the details. After looking at me once again he growled and turned his back saying, "Whatever. It doesn't matter anymore."

With that Yusuke ran forward to catch up with Genkai as she came upon the arena. Kuwabara and I quickly ran after him and all three of us stopped behind Genkai as she said, "Here's the battle arena! You'll face off two by two until only one of you is left!"

"Alright, a fight," both Yusuke and Kuwabara echoed in unison. They looked at one another challengingly before running in after the rest of the group. I quickly jumped up the stairs three at a time to keep from getting left behind and nearly crashed into Yusuke's back when I entered the place.

"Huh? It's pitch black in here!" Yusuke gaped as he stared around.

"That's an understatement!" I gasped as I stared around. There weren't any words to describe it. Yeah I knew from the manga that this place was pitch black but I wasn't prepared for this. You couldn't even see the dang floor for god's sake! I looked around to see that once the door closed behind us it was like it disappeared from existence completely! Back home my friends and family always called me a demon or vampire because I could see unusually well in really dark places like they could in the daytime and……I still could but this was different. I couldn't see around the huge room at all. It was like there was nothing around us at all but a never ending black abyss. I couldn't even see the ground before me as I stood on it. Yet, I could see Yusuke, Kuwabara, Genkai and the rest of them like they had an intense fire around them. Literally! There was a strange flame that surrounded each of them. It didn't take long for me to notice that the flame was made up of their Spirit Energy. I looked at each of them in turn to see different levels right before my eyes. Kuwabara, Yusuke, and Genkai's energy were by far the brightest in the room but……for lack of a better word, Yusuke and Kuwabara's energy was raw and untamed. It was like there wasn't any kind of restraint whatsoever and it released itself as it wished. It looked more dangerous than hers but it was only because of the unpredictable snaps it made.

Genkai's on the other hand………I could only describe it as brilliant and beautiful. She kept the flames around her body to match her form but it was evident that she was the most powerful person in the room. It was a beautiful blue flame that shone around her and reminded me greatly of the sky on a clear day. I looked down at my own hands and nearly bit my tongue in half upon seeing a bright red demon energy flaming all about me. Yet, just like Kuwabara and Yusuke's it seemed to be raw and untamed as well. Heh, well damn, I really am in the same boat as both of them. Well……that just sucks. I can't get cocky here or I'll have my ass handed to me.

I was so engrossed in my own thoughts that I nearly jumped out of my skin when Genkai said, "Let's determine the match-ups. Hm…come to think of it, I don't even know your names. Go 'round and introduce yourselves."

One of the tall guys with the patch over his left and in the in the traditional Japanese outfit stepped forward to say, "My name is Musashi. I exterminate demons."

"I'm Shaolin. I'm training as I travel the country," Shaolin-or the bastard Rando, whatever you prefer to call him-said stepping forward. I looked over the small form and couldn't help but think that he looked really innocent. If I didn't know what was coming I would've thought that someone else had to be Rando. I would've never thought that this short guy standing in front of me would be a demon who has killed ninety-nine Masters of Reiki. I mean he just didn't fit the profile and he seemed too innocent! Jeeze. How'd in gods name did he pull that off considering what he really looks like! Kaze-maru was a more likely candidate for it than him.

"I'm Kibano. I'm challenging my own limits," the guy in a Japanese training outfit said calmly.

"My name is Chinpo," the next guy said calmly looking at Genkai. I bit down hard on my lip. I've got only one word for this guy. DIET. I think that pleads my case.

"Kaze-maru! I'm one of the last ninjas!" the bald guy said proudly pointing at himself. I stared at him with my eyebrows arched. Was I supposed to be impressed with the 'Last Ninja' thing? No, I am not, but still, I'm happy Yusuke has to fight him and not me. I don't think I'd last long against his weapons. That would just plain suck.

"I'm Kuroda," the last guy said before Yusuke and Kuwabara. Yes! Power to the glasses! Don't let anyone bring those glasses down! POWER TO THE GLASSES! Uh……eh……I mean……oh screw it. Moving on.

"Kazuma Kuwabara! Punk!" Kuwabara stated trying to sound as tough as he possibly could.

"Yusuke Urameshi! Ultra Punk!" Yusuke stated flatly outdoing Kuwabara as usual. Why am I not surprised that they're still trying to outdo one another in a place that could possibly be their deaths? Jeeze.

Genkai went to move on but Shaolin interrupted her, "Excuse me Master Genkai but who is she? I know you said she was a witness to the trials but why is that?" What? Were was he pointing? Oh……he was pointing at me……and now they were all staring at me……I hate Shaolin now more than ever. I hate it when everyone is staring at me and that little brat just made that happen!

"Huh? You mean me?" I asked pointing at myself.

"Well, don't stand there like an idiot. Introduce yourself," Genkai sniffed looking over at me.

"Sheesh. Nagging old hag," I muttered quietly under my breath. I looked up with the futile hope that she hadn't heard but saw her eye twitch slightly. Yep, she heard me and she was filing it away for future reasons to kick my sorry butt across the room. I sighed and continued, "The name's Rin Ishida. Roaming fighter." Roaming Demonic Fighter was a more accurate term but I thought that'd be too much information at the moment. Some things are better left unsaid.

"Here are the pairings!" Genkai suddenly snapped causing all attention to fall on her once again. She then commenced to tell them what the lots were as I glanced around the room again. It was strange. There was something about the room that gave me the creeps. The darkness that surrounded us was hardly normal. Even without a window light should've shone from the cracks in the door or something but it wasn't happening. Genkai treated the room with something. She had to or……something else was going on. I was suddenly snapped out of my trance when Genkai said, "So finally someone notices."

I spun around to see her standing right there in front of me as Kaze-maru and Kuroda went out into the pitch black room to fight. I looked at her confused, "I'm sorry?"

"None of these twits have taken notice why they can see each other but not the room. You're the only one who noticed that the room was treated to reveal what their Reiki looks like. You and I are the only ones to see it but yours is……different to put it mildly," her eyes looked over me suspiciously. I could see she was trying to figure out my power and I realized that I needed to avoid that until I no longer could.

"Yeah well……don't think too much about it," I laughed nervously. I turned away from her and instead turned to look at what Shaolin's energy would look like. Whoa. It was a mixture of pitch black and dark blue flames. He was trying to hide his demonic energy and make it look like what would belong to a human but it was sloppy.

'_I'll have to remember that for later. He could turn out to be a great teacher for me,'_ I thought as I turned back to watch the fight. My jaw dropped instantly as I watched the two go absolutely berserk and try to kill each other. They were moving furiously and seemed that they weren't going to slow down a single inch anytime soon. Kaze-maru Kuroda were going at it fighting tooth and nail trying to bring the other down. Both were heavily bruised and it seemed the Kuroda would win until suddenly Kaze-maru threw his hand out and struck him down with a Rei Gun. Then he stumbled out of the darkness saying something about revealing his ace in the whole. I wasn't paying any attention really. The blast that he had just used was full of raging but tamed power that sent a small chill racing through my blood. This world was going to teach me so many things and I could already tell that some of them were going to be more painful than others.

It finally hit me that these guys were really tough and they had the ability to put up a huge fight. And what was I? A simple demon girl who just learned how to use some of her own powers. Not really what anyone one of these guys would consider a real challenger. If I was going to make it and live long enough in this world to get home safely I was going to have to become a better fighter. And fast. I was again so engrossed in my own fears and discoveries that I hadn't even noticed that Botan had come up and was talking to Yusuke. Then she suddenly caught sight of me and pointed at me gasping, "It's you!"

"Calm down Botan. She doesn't seem to be against us right now," Yusuke answered still sounding a little edgy about my presence but otherwise not truly concerned. That made me feel better in the long run. At least he was willing to try and get along with me before immediately deciding I was better off dead.

"So you got on Koenma's bad side as well as the punk? You definitely have a story to tell, don't you," Genkai whispered quietly. Even though she was closer to Botan and Yusuke-each who didn't even hear her-I heard her voice as clear as a bell like she was standing right beside me.

"Fine," I muttered looking back to see Shaolin walking forward looking a little worn from his battle. Dang it! I missed it! I didn't get to see him fight against his opponent! Ok, enough daydreaming and worrying about things that can wait for later. I NEEDED to watch these fights and learn!

"Third Match: Kuwabara vs. Musashi!!!" Genkai called from where she stood.

Kuwabara moved confidently forward but Yusuke suddenly stopped him saying, "Don't trip over your own feet!"

"Go screw yourself, Urameshi," Kuwabara hissed angrily back at him before walking forward again. I knew it was a stupid thing to laugh about but I couldn't help it. Those two were so freaking funny!

"I wonder what goes on in a room when they're alone," I said quietly. Botan began laughing and Yusuke shot a death glare at me causing me to fall into a fit of laughter as well. I looked at him and gasping for breath said, "I'm sorry! I just couldn't leave it alone! I'm sorry!"

Yusuke only growled and we all refocused out attention back to the fight as Kuwabara stood getting the crud punched out of him and looking like an incompetent idiot not being able to fight back. Genkai and I seemed to be the only ones who could truly see the fight as it happened and the rest of the fighters around us only seemed to have faint clue of what was happening. Yusuke heard a fist connect with a jaw and Kuwabara grunt as he said, "Hey, Kuwabara! Sounds like he's beatin' the crap outta you! You always said you were tough-so show 'im!"

"Aww, whadda you care Urameshi? Look to your own battles! I'm doin' fine!!" Kuwabara shouted in reply as he wiped the blood from his jaw. I cocked my own eyebrow at that as I clearly saw that Kuwabara was really shaky on his feet. I sighed. I knew that Kuwabara would win this but its so weird standing there knowing what was going to happen no matter how unlikely it seemed to be. Maybe I shouldn't have read the Manga.

"Doing fine? I've beat you silly, boy. You can barely stand," Musashi laughed from just in front of Kuwabara. He had a cocky smirk on his face that reminded me greatly of how Hiei looked before Yusuke struck him down. Was it me or did every person who ever got cocky smiles got the living crud beat out of them? Just a thought.

"Think so? Hah! I spit on your wimpy punches, man. You don't know brutal until you've gone a round with Urameshi!" Kuwabara answered actually spitting at the guy. It was then that Musashi pulled out his wooden sword that was carved from a tree over a thousand years old and polished in Holy Water. Honestly……it wasn't that impressive. Yeah sure the Holy Water works against demons and crap but……it didn't look like anything special. I don't see what the guy was so proud of. I mean after what was going to happen to it after he landed a hit on Kuwabara, I knew I'd be able to snap it with one well aimed kick. No questions asked.

Suddenly he disappeared from Kuwabara's sight and then only seconds later delivered a blow that might very well have killed a normal human or knocked them clean unconscious. A huge crack snapped out around the room and I saw half of the guy's sword go flying into the air and land beside a dazed Kuwabara. I flinched at the impact shivered slightly, "That made me hurt just watching that. Ouch."

Kuwabara stood up and grabbed the end of the sword out of pure instinct, not really having any kind of plan for it. Musashi disappeared from sight and was about to deliver the finishing blow when Kuwabara spun around in time and called forth his Spirit Sword through the tip of the charmed sword. Instantly he broke the rest of his challenger's sword and struck him down. Genkai stood there gaping at Kuwabara from the side lines and I couldn't help but smile at the way it looked like she had just been slapped across the face. I shook my head and looked back at Kuwabara to get a better look at his sword.

Just like in the anime and manga, the sword was a bright orange that shone throughout the surrounding area and despite the fact you could see it wasn't fully mastered it still was clearly powerful. It was very bright and surprisingly looked kind of cool. I cocked my head to the side and said, "It looks stronger than when I saw it the first time. Huh……maybe actually seeing it in person changes things."

"What do you mean 'when I saw it the first time'?" Botan asked suspiciously as she looked at me.

I could already feel the nervous sweat-drop forming behind me as I hurriedly said, "Ah nothing at all! I was just rambling to myself! You don't have to take any of it seriously!"

I turned away quickly a moved a bit to my right as Genkai called, "The Fourth Match: Urameshi vs. Kibano!"

"Oh sure, call him out by his last name," I muttered sarcastically thinking no one could hear but I was in for a rude surprise when suddenly Genkai was behind me hitting me hard in the back of the head. I fell forward onto the ground in a daze and groaned as my head began pounding.

"Shut up and watch the trials," Genkai sniffed walking away from me with her hands behind her back. I sat up slowly as Kuwabara walked over to me to help me up. I shrugged him off and crossed my legs refocusing my attention out on Yusuke as he stood looking around for Kibano.

"Whoo Boy! It really is pitch black in here. We can't see each other," Yusuke said keeping his voice calm but I could see by the way that his eyes flickered from each of his sides that he was slightly unnerved.

"I don't find that a problem. I know your position precisely," Kibano laughed from the darkness. I strained my eyes towards where his voice came from and faintly saw him standing a little ways away from Yusuke. It was hard to see him clearly but I could easily see that he had on that helmet that allowed him to sense Spirit Energy easier.

Kibano suddenly moved and began beating the mess out of Yusuke. Every time Yusuke got back up after taking a hit he was sent straight back down by another. Yusuke didn't even have time to react and even though I could clearly see his Spirit Energy, Kibano disappeared from my sight quite often. I growled softly and hissed, "I shouldn't lose him like this. I should be able to see him!"

"Then focus. It's not a difficult concept," Genkai said to me in her normal condescending tone. I didn't know what it was but something within me clicked. There was something in the sound of her voice that made me instantly freeze. Normally if anyone had spoken to me like that they would've gotten it back ten fold. Yet, instead I only could smile at her.

"Got it," I said simply looking back out at the fight. I focused everything I had in trying to see him each and every second that the world seemed to get silent around me. I could actually sense my Demon Energy sharpening and my eyes were able to catch even his slightest movements. When I finally could watch every single movement, he began powering up his arm for the 'Supercharged Explosive Thrust' and aimed it clean at Yusuke's jaw. I winced before the hit landed and whispered, "That's going to hurt."

WHAM! I jumped when the hit made contact. It sounded horrible as Kibano's knuckles connected with Yusuke's jaw. It made this stomach turning sound that was followed by the sent of Yusuke's blood filling the air. Yusuke went flying back into the ground and I flinched at the sound of his head cracking on the floor. THAT had to hurt like hell. Yet, he got right back up. I always knew he'd keep getting back up in the anime and manga because he was the main character but here……actually standing there and listening to it, watching it, and even smelling it made things different! I began to feel my heart pound against my ribcage and my blood race through my veins.

It was real and I was there for the ride. I was going to be a part of something that would change me. I knew that much but……what was truly going to happen? The fighting and violence……it had a purpose……but what was it?

"Whirlwind Kill Throw!" Kibano roared flipping Yusuke through the air. Yet, just before Yusuke was even thrown from his body he slid the little cigarette into the guy's Gi and prepared himself for the impact his body would take.

"Bingo," I grinned upon watching the cigarette.

"What do you mean?! Yusuke's getting beat!" Botan nearly shrieked into my ear. She was up in my face as she continued, "I don't care if you're on a temporary 'ok' status with Yusuke but you still tried to get him killed!"

"Calm down, alright. I didn't step into the fight with Hiei and Yusuke to aid one or the other. I'm perfectly aware that you don't trust me but I would like to keep on relatively good terms," I said stepping back a bit. I tried to give her a reassuring smile but she looked away and crossed her arms in a huff. I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck nervously, "Well, I guess Reikai still wants my head on a platter."

"Rei Gun!" Yusuke's voice suddenly called from the fight and I looked up to see Yusuke striking Kibano down. My jaw dropped as Kibano slammed onto the ground and Yusuke staggered slightly towards the group. That was some hit and I have to give him his props. That was kind of cool. He then commenced to tell them what happened and Botan hit him in the back of the head for the pickpocket comment.

"Semi-finals commence immediately! First Match: Kaze-maru vs. Urameshi!" Genkai called out getting immediate grief from Yusuke. She shrugged him off and said, "Come on. We're changing locales."

We then moved towards the doors and walked out. Before we could get more than five meters from the battle arena, a strange wind blew all around us and a strange cloud of shadows appeared on the place where we walked up. The figure in the beige cloaked appeared once again and stared at me from beneath the cloak.

"Who are you?" Genkai asked with narrowing eyes.

"Damn……not here," I growled running forward away from the group. I passed the demon to run towards the forest and she quickly followed. We left the fighters back with Genkai and came skidding to a stop just outside the brim of the trees. I looked around before saying, "What are you playing at? You haven't even told me your name and yet you expect me to try and kill Yusuke Urameshi. What's going on?"

"If you really want to know a name by which you may call me I shall give you one. Call me Morte. As for why I expect you to kill Urameshi it only seems as a fair trade to me. After all I brought you here did I not? Shouldn't you repay me?" she replied in that silk like tone of hers.

"So to repay you I have to kill him?" I stuttered in disbelief.

"You can do it. At the moment you have something he couldn't stand a chance against. Use it and kill him. Then we can mold the world to what we want it to be. You can stay here as long as you want and never leave if you don't want to. Think of everything you could do here. Think of all the things you'll never have to put up with again. Isn't it worth it?" the demon looked at me with hypnotizing eyes. I froze on the spot and stared at their eyes before quickly shaking my head no. The demon growled and hissed, "Do as I say! I brought you here! I control your fate!"

I then saw what it was that froze my blood in my veins. A third eye. Almost like Hiei's except for the color. It was a fierce mixture of dark midnight blue and very dark purple. The exact same feeling that slammed into my body when I was around Hiei hit me without warning and I was nearly knocked off my feet. I gasped for air and stumbled back trying to escape the feeling but it seemed like it was hitting me from all sides. The demoness walked over to me and grabbed my throat lifting me clean off my feet. I looked at her completely stunned and found myself completely defenseless as she hissed, "You have one last chance understand that? I'll give you until the Saint Beast incident. If you don't kill him at the end of it then consider yourself no longer useful and I won't waste energy sending you back. I will just finish you."

The next thing I knew was that she slammed her fist into my stomach and dropped me on the ground. My vision blurred and she was out of my sight just as everything went black.

-------------

"SLACKER!"

WHACK!

"OLD HAG!"

THUMP!

Now that's a different way to wake up. I slowly opened my eyes to see that I was in the same room as before but this time it wasn't sunlight that was shining down through the window. Light given from the moon was what lit my room instead and I slowly sat up to look around. How long had I been out? When did they find me? What else happened?

I thought about it for a moment or two and suddenly remembered that I missed Genkai's tournament! I threw the covers off of me and attempted to bolt out of the bed but my stomach suddenly seared in protest. I winced and stopped only to hear, "Work you slacker!"

"Damn it you hold hag I'm exhausted! I can't!" Yusuke snapped angrily.

"You won't! There's a difference. Now work!" Genkai growled just as viciously.

"Wonder how long they've been going at it. I must've been so far gone that I could've been mistaken for dead," I yawned stretching my arms high above my head. I looked around a moment before pulling my hair out of my face with a hair tie and standing up to ignore the wound on my stomach sear in pain again. I fixed the bed and walked over to the door sliding it open very quietly. I poked my head out into the hall to see if I was alone and found that there was absolutely no one in the hall. I stepped out quietly and took careful steps down the hall looking for where the annoyed voices of Yusuke and Genkai were coming from. I made it all the way down one hallway and turned to another that opened up into a courtyard near the back of the temple. I walked a small ways down the open-to-nature hall before stopping and looking up at the moon that was shining down brightly.

"Wow……I don't think I've ever seen the moon look so beautiful before," I said staring at the beautiful pale moon that was high in the sky. The night sky was clear and the lights given from stars shone out brightly against the dark blanket to light the entire area around. Though it's normally far out of my character to ignore the world around me just to stare at such simple sights but the night seemed to stop me in my tracks. Genkai's home was calm and quiet. If one listened hard enough they could easily hear the sounds of nocturnal nature coming alive all around them. It was so quiet and peaceful. This was the kind of place that was never found back at home. There never really was a place to think in peace……I wasn't sure if I missed that or not.

"Hey so it actually lives after all!"

I nearly jumped clean out of my skin and off the porch at the sound of the voice. I spun on my heel to see Yusuke walking around a corner rolling his shoulder like a pitcher would for baseball. Genkai calmly followed behind him with her superior air thick around her but she seemed to give a smile when she saw me……or maybe I was imagining the curl tugging at her old lips.

"We found you knocked clean out by that forest. If one of those creatures had decided to kill you before we got to you, you would've been so dead!" Yusuke laughed giving out a small yawn. He stopped in front of me a little ways and continued, "We're getting something to eat and then continue training for a little while longer before hitting the sack."

"That sounds nice……uh……about earlier back at the battle arena…I just want to say that I really have no idea who that was. They've been following me lately telling me to…" I trailed off realizing that telling Yusuke about my 'orders' would only make him trust me even less. It would probably be in my best interest to keep those quiet for now. I shook my head and said, "Never mind. Do you mind if I join you in getting something to eat?"

"You're welcome to come," Genkai nodded as she moved past us to walk into another hallway. Yusuke and I looked at one another for a moment and just when I was about to break the silence both of our stomachs growled obnoxiously.

"No need for words when the stomach says it all," Yusuke and I both laughed but suddenly stopped when we realized we spoke in unison.

"That was odd……Well, I'm going to go eat!" I said spinning on my heel and tearing after Genkai who just left our sight. I heard Yusuke's hurried feet tear off after us and he fell into step just behind me. Genkai led us down a hall and into a nice room connected to a kitchen. Yusuke instantly went over to the table and plopped down on one of the cushions to wait for his food.

"If you want to be fed you have to get it yourself you slacker," Genkai sniffed in contempt.

"You're kidding me! I'm too tired to even get up!" Yusuke whined 'collapsing' onto his back.

"You have enough energy to shoot off your yap! Why don't you focus that into getting yourself some food?!" Genkai snapped angrily at him.

"Forget it," I said walking past them into the kitchen. I sighed and stretched my hands above my head, "Time to cook!"

-------------

_Half an Hour Later_

-------------

"Ok dig in," I said happily clapping my hands together as I looked at the meal I made and set before us on the table. There was a big size bowl of rice in the middle of the table that would let us scoop some into our bowls and there were platters of sushi and teriyaki chicken with sauces that I placed in front of each of us. After filling the three cups in front of us with tea I place the pot down in the middle of the table in anyone's reach incase they wanted more. Yusuke's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets when he saw the food placed in front of him and I could tell by the way he was greedily eyeing his food that he was barely keeping himself from digging in. Genkai on the other hand was looking over the food with interest and it seemed to me that she was grateful for not having to make the meal. I gave Yusuke a glare out of the corner of my eye and said, "Master Genkai, why don't you have the first bite of the meal?"

Genkai looked at me for a moment before picking up her chopsticks and taking a piece of teriyaki chicken from the plate. She popped it into her mouth and chewed for a moment before swallowing with a satisfied look on her face. The old woman looked at me as I sat down and said, "Well, I'll give you some credit. It's a pretty good meal."

"I'm glad you approve Master Genkai. Call it a thank you for allowing me to stay at your temple for a short time," I said smiling at her. Yusuke wordlessly grabbed up his chopsticks and began stuffing his face like there was no tomorrow. I dropped my own chopsticks and stared at him in horror. It was the most disgusting thing I had ever seen! There was rice all over his face and the juice from the chicken was sliding down his chin leaving an odd color after it. He noticed I was looking at him and opened his mouth to speak and the only words I caught were 'flipping awesome'. The rest of what he said was drowned out by the food he had stuffed into his mouth.

"I'm glad you like it but shut your mouth until there isn't anything in it you dumbass!" I snapped looking away from him. I snatched up my chopsticks again and put a piece of sushi in my mouth. I chewed in annoyance and swallowed without looking either of them in the eye. When I finally looked up after eating a little more I saw Yusuke's plate completely wiped clean.

"Man! I'm stuffed!" he laughed holding his stomach.

"You better be ready for a fight after this you slacker," Genkai growled finishing off her rice. She reached for her drink and took a small sip before saying, "But before that I would like something that Rin promised me. What happened to make you involve yourself in such a bad conflict with the Reikai?"

I stopped chewing and looked down at my chopsticks. There was no use in avoiding the question but I felt that if I answered it I would be telling more that what they're supposed to know. Then again they do deserve to know why I'll be hanging around them like a lost puppy. I finished off the mouthful of food I had and took a drink. Then I looked up at them and said, "Here it is. So get comfortable."

I then told them everything from start to finish. I began the second I found Yusuke in the street and ended with what happened now. Of course I did leave quite a few things out. Like Mrs. Minamino for instance. I didn't say anything about her. Or the conversations I had with the thieves. I felt that some things I had to say were best left for another time. Especially the demon that was threatening my life. I had until the whole mess with the Saint Beasts to think of a plan. Two months was all I had………and I was beginning to wonder if that was enough.

"There you go. Now make your judgments and decide what you're going to do with me," I said finishing off the last of my food. I grabbed my drink and busied myself with sipping so I wouldn't have to meet their eyes.

"I've decided," Genkai suddenly said causing me to instantly look over at her. Yusuke leaned forward a bit as well and we both sat holding our breaths while we waited for Genkai to continue. She placed her chopsticks down on the table and looked up at us saying, "Rin, you will stay here and train with the slacker. That's how you shall repay me for the generosity I have shown you."

"Generosity? Training?" I blinked at her. GENEROSITY? WHERE'D SHE COME OFF WITH THIS CRAP?!

"I'm cool with that. That means I'll get the fight I've been wanting anyway," Yusuke shrugged in indifference.

"I don't get a say in this do I?" I said as futile hope dripped from my words.

"No," Genkai said flatly crushing everything I was hoping for. I whined and fell backwards onto my back.

"Dang it," I whined staring up at the ceiling. I lifted my head up a small ways and looked at Genkai in the eyes saying, "Your training is going to kill me. I didn't even enter the damn tournament and yet I'm punished?"

"You didn't beat me in the fight," Genkai reminded me flatly. She had me there.

I quietly sat up and threw myself to my feet. I calmly grabbed up all of the dishes that were placed on the table and made for the kitchen. Before entering the room I looked over my shoulder and said, "Fine. I'll train with you, you blackmailing old hag."

I then walked into the kitchen and barely had the restraint to gently set the dishes in the sink. I bit down hard on my lip and began washing the dishes. Why did I have to train with her? I mean I didn't honestly expect her to just let me lounge around her home but I would've at least thought she would've let me leave her temple. But no, I now had to sit back and train for two frickin' months with her until the whole Saint Beast fiasco. Whoopdy-frickin-doo.

Then the day's earlier events hit me full force in the face and with that came that unusually silk-like tone of the demoness.

'_You have one last chance understand that? I'll give you until the Saint Beast incident. If you don't kill him at the end of it then consider yourself no longer useful and I won't waste energy sending you back. I will just finish you.'_

"So if I don't kill him she'll kill me. Well, that makes this decision all the easier doesn't it?" I asked myself bitterly. I shook my head and scrubbed the dishes a little bit harder than necessary. How was I going to get out of this? There was no way in heck I could kill Yusuke but if I didn't do something I was going to end up dead for sure. I couldn't expect anyone to help me with this either. They all have their own problems to deal with. There's no fair way to add my own to that. Man……wasn't this supposed to be an escape from my crazy world?

"Hey," a quiet voice said from behind me. I turned around to see Yusuke standing there with his hands in his pockets. He looked at me and said, "That old hag forced me to come in here and help you clean the dishes."

I don't know why but it was difficult for me to speak with a steady tone. I was feeling so much at the moment that I didn't even know what I was supposed to feel. So I simply nodded and turned back around to finish the last bit of cleaning I had. Yusuke walked over and picked up a rag to dry the dishes. It was a pretty clean system. I washed; he dried, and then put them up. After a while of working he cleared his throat and I took that as a sign that he had something to say. I put the rice bowl back into the sink and slightly turned my body to face him and waited.

"Listen about……going off on you the first time we met in the flesh……" Yusuke rubbed the back of his neck apologetically.

"Don't worry about it. I should be the one apologizing anyway. After that fiasco with Hiei and Keiko you should be about ready to rip me apart from the inside out or something. Either way I'm not too concerned on what happened. Keiko's fine and well……if I ever meet Hiei again he'll only finish what he was going to do in the first place," I shrugged and picked up the bowl again to finish rinsing it under the water.

"Must be hard," Yusuke muttered quietly.

"What?" I said slightly confused.

"Well……you're out on your own and not to mention you seem to be getting caught up in a lot of trouble. Even for a demon someone can only take so much," Yusuke said looking off towards the window.

"Again, I'm not worried about it. Things will just go the way they have to. I'll see what happens to me. Anyway we shouldn't be worrying about stuff like this anyway. Tomorrow starts the intense training Genkai is going to give. I'm more worried about living through that and I didn't even want to be her student," I passed him the bowl and thought about it for a moment. I hung my head and groaned, "Man! This isn't fair."

Yusuke suddenly started to laugh out of complete nowhere. I looked up at him to see him pointing at me while he was laughing. I cocked my eyebrow and crossed my arms, "What's so funny punk?"

"You're face! You looked so pathetic!" Yusuke laughed holding his gut.

"You wanna see pathetic! You're going to be pathetic lying on the ground writhing in pain!" I snapped bringing my hand back out of instinct. I then brought it forward with all my strength and slapped Yusuke clean across the face. He stumbled back and tripped over a stool I used to reach a higher cabinet and fell back. I could already see the outcome so I brought my pruned fingers up to my eyes and covered my eyes to await the crash. It followed soon after with a huge BOOM! I slowly removed my hands from my face and saw Yusuke lying there in a dazed heap. Spiny-eyes and all.

"Nice backhand there," Genkai said from the doorway of the kitchen. She apparently heard the hit or was walking in anyway but either way it goes she was grinning about Yusuke being on the ground in a daze.

"He's going to really slaughter me now," I groaned digging my knuckle into my temples. I sighed and turned back to Yusuke seeing him snoring there on the ground. My jaw dropped and I growled, "He's asleep?! You're freakin' kidding me!"

"That slacker will sleep like a rock until tomorrow morning when he gets his rude awakening," Genkai sniffed calmly. She walked in and picked up the stool Yusuke tripped over and replaced it back where it belonged. I pulled Yusuke up and put his arm over my shoulder. For some odd reason I couldn't help but smile as Genkai said, "Take him to his room and then meet me out front."

I wordlessly obeyed her and after making sure Yusuke wasn't going to fall off the bed I ran to the front where Genkai was patiently waiting for me. I bowed to her and said, "So Genkai what will you do to train me?"

"Fight," Genkai moved into a fighting stance and I followed. We stared at one another for a moment before lunging forward to fight.

So two months passed quicker than I thought. During that whole time I was the cook and Yusuke was Genkai's top priority. She worked him to the bone each and everyday doing these crazy exercises that pushed him to his absolute limits. When Yusuke finally crashed and burned each night into unconsciousness Genkai would find me and beat the living crud out of me like Yusuke. Needless to say everyday when I woke up from the poundings I could sense I was a little stronger and I quickly realized that was because of my demonic abilities. Everyday I would heal and adapt to what she had done. Within the first month I was able to strike her back multiple times before being knocked unconscious. I began to fully understand my own powers as the elemental demoness and realized that I had a long way to go until I got all of those powers that I created myself. It was tough but a good kind of tough. The fun kind of tough. It was something I actually looked forward to, despite the pain that came with it. Genkai might've been teaching me more about responsibility than fighting now that I think about it. Whatever it was, the only way I could show my gratitude was to try my absolute best in striking her back and keeping her down. It was the only goal she wanted me to have in a fight against her. So I tried but……I could only do so much in two months.

The night before Yusuke would leave, I walked towards the entrance of the temple hoping to make it out without anyone's notice. I had to be back at the city before Yusuke so I could find the street where Botan would take them to go for Labyrinth Castle. I had successfully made it all the way to the front entrance and was making towards the gate from the courtyard when a Rei Gun was fired and aimed at my feet. I sensed it coming long before it came too close and I back-flipped away to safety.

"Well……I thought I would've gotten a little bit further than this," I sighed turning towards my right where Genkai stood.

"And where pray tell do you think you're going?" Genkai asked walking forward.

"I have something I have to do back in the city. I have to leave tonight or miss my chance," I answered looking over at the ground where the Rei Bullet hit. The stone was completely destroyed. I could only imagine what would've happened had that been me.

"Oh really?" Genkai said looking at me.

"Please Genkai allow me to leave," I said looking her in the eyes. I didn't have time for this. I had to get there so I could rest and then be ready for the Saint Beast mission. Why did the old woman have to be so freaking stubborn? Why wouldn't she just let me pass and be on my way?

"I'm curious. Why did you stay so long only to leave so suddenly?" Genkai said staring at me with intent eyes.

I sighed and bowed before her, "Because of something I have to do." With that said instead of straightening back up I simply rolled forward onto my hands and pushed off to fly over her. I landed on the ground just at the stairs and took a mad dash down them hoping she wouldn't follow me. If she did I was as good as caught and I knew it. After I had run a little ways down the stairs I chose to look over my shoulder and saw her standing there looking down at me. There was this strange look that was written across her face……was it…regret?

I turned back around and closed off my thought process as I ran as fast as I possibly could. I could afford to feel guilt right now and I had to run as fast as I possibly could. I didn't even have any clue where I was until I suddenly found myself standing on the roof of a tall building staring out over the hypnotizing lights of the city. How long had I been standing there? When and where did I even enter the city? Man, how frickin' far out of it was I?

I was once again mentally kicking myself until I suddenly felt the presence of a demon behind me. I could feel the color drain from my face as I spun on my heel and readied myself to be attacked. When I finally came full circle I got one of the best surprises of my life. It wasn't an enemy that was standing before me. It was Shuichi Minamino.

"Oh god. Let me swallow my heart now," I gasped pressing my hand to the base of my neck above my chest.

"I gathered that you'd be showing up soon. After your warning and everything that's been happening here, it was only a matter of time before you decided to resurface," Kurama stated calmly as he put his hands in his pocket against the breeze of the night. I shivered slightly remembering that I had been borrowing outfits that Genkai provided me. Tonight I was in light fabric jeans and a t-shirt with short sleeves. Not the best choice for the slight breeze that was blowing here. I ignored my own discomfort and looked towards Kurama whose hair was blowing in his face obscuring it from my view.

"Yeah well, I couldn't very well keep my nose out of this new mess. It promises to be too much fun," I smiled walking away from the edge of the building. I stopped a few feet in front of him and said, "So tell me. Have you been able to talk to Hiei?"

"Once. A little while ago when we agreed to our community service," Kurama answered looking out over the city. He didn't meet my eyes as he continued, "He wanted to know if I knew where the 'traitorous wench' was and if I did, tell him so he could 'rip her precious voice box straight from her throat'. Needless to say he hasn't forgotten about you."

"Well, don't I feel loved," I said with a HUGE sweat-drop behind my head. At this rate I'll piss Hiei off so bad that he'll kill me before I have to worry about anyone else killing me. I was still debating on which would be the better end.

"I suppose you'll somehow get into our mission tomorrow?" Kurama turned his attention back to me and away from the lights of the city.

"I'm going to try. I have something I need to do there anyway. So you could call helping you a bonus," I said looking down at my nails. Then I looked up and said, "So how's your mom? Is she fully healed or still recovering?"

"She's still a little weak but she's at least been allowed to go home. She has wanted to see you for a while. She was a little disappointed when she found out that I didn't have any way to contact you. You've seemed to have made quite the impression on her," Kurama replied stifling a small yawn.

"What time is it?" I cocked my head to the side curiously. I didn't know when I left Genkai's house so……I wondered how late it is.

"It's around one in the morning," Kurama said calmly.

"WHAT THE?!" I nearly shouted at him. I shook my head and said, "Oh jeeze! That old hag! Grrr! Wait a second. Then what the heck are you doing up? Shouldn't you be at home with your mother or something?"

"Normally I would but tonight I sensed a very strange demonic signature enter the city at top speed and their mind seemed to be a little chaotic. I wasn't entirely sure if it was safe to ignore the demon so I came to investigate and found you here staring off at the lights of the city. You didn't seem to be at all in tune with the world around you. I stood here for a good ten minutes before you realized I was here," Kurama answered in perfect monotone. How could he do that? He always seemed to give straight answers without even the slightest emotion. It amazed me that someone could do that without even trying. Normally someone else would've been laughing but not him……strange.

"Why didn't you try to get my attention?" I said curiously.

"Sometimes it's better to let someone think things through before interrupting them. It seemed you had something very important on your mind. I thought it'd be better to let you get your thoughts together before offering you a place to stay for the night," Kurama said calmly looking back out over the city lights.

"Thanks for……wait. Pause, rewind, and play. Did you just say somewhere to stay?" I asked slightly startled.

"Yes. I thought that maybe you could rest at my house and then head out for the mission with or without company. It all depends on you," Kurama said calmly. I cocked my head to the side and crossed my arms as I thought about the possibility of taking Kurama's offer. It did mean that I wouldn't have to sleep on hard concrete while in the city anymore. Even if it was only a couch it was a step up! Not to mention a house with a perfect controllable temperature. That also meant I wouldn't get too hot or cold. So far the whole idea of taking him up on his offer was sounding pretty good.

"I see……I'm going to take you up on that offer. I'm so tired that even the floor of a house sounds good right now," I said smiling. He laughed as he turned around and then suddenly stopped.

"So you mind taking the faster way to my house?" Kurama said looking over his shoulder. I immediately caught what he meant and began stretching out my legs out for a moment. I straightened up and nodded. Before I could even tell what had happened my legs went into autopilot following Kurama as he leapt from the roof to a nearby one. I kept up with him easily and we soon stopped in front of a nice looking house. I looked up as we entered and found that it was a cozy little house. It was perfect and had some paintings and little trinkets all over the place. Just what one would expect from Kurama's human mother Shiori.

Personally I was too tired to really pay any attention and the next thing I knew was that I was sitting at the table in Kurama's kitchen. He walked out of the room to set up a place for me and I leaned forward to rest my head on the table. The next thing I knew was that just as I was about to fade into sleep a warm cloth dropped down around my shoulders.

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I heard birds outside the house and I realized that I was still resting my head on the table. I yawned and moved up to glance around the room and see it was clear into the day. I nearly shouted at myself for being so stupid and cursed at myself all the way out of Kurama's house and down the street. I stared ahead of me with a tense face until I saw Botan trying to hide something away. I willed my legs to go faster and skid to a stop right beside her. I grabbed her wrist and whispered, "Don't close that portal!"

"What?!" she gasped jumping. She looked at me in worry and paled.

"Trust me. I'm not here to fight you or anything. I just want to get into Labyrinth Castle. So let me slip in and then close the portal. You can tell Koenma where I am and then I want you to do something. You should stick close to Yusuke's school. Look of Yukimura, understand?" I hissed quietly to her. Then without waiting for her to reply I jumped into the portal and watched it close behind me. I sniffed and looked to see I landed on a strong and sturdy tree branch. I straightened up and said, "Well, there's no way to run from Koenma now. If I don't die here he'll definitely get the audience he's been wanting."

I stretched my legs and bounded off towards the place I knew the four would meet. I wasn't even running for more than five minutes when I came across the four as Hiei was stating why he had come. I swallowed and began trying to think of a way to announce my presence without getting killed when I saw a sudden energy attack making its way at Yusuke's side. The attack was angled off so no one could see it. Yusuke was going to get hit and no one even knew what was coming at them. I pushed myself forward even more until I came within feet of them and dug my fingers into Yusuke's shoulder. When I was sure I had a steady grip on his shoulder I spun my body to the side and slammed Yusuke into the ground out of the way from the attack. None of them even seemed to be able to process the action until I reached my hand out and put a shield up in time to deflect the attack.

It was over in a second. As soon as the attack hit my shield it faded away and I could see the demon that had thrown it. It was Morte. I glared at her and shouted, "You have the answer. You decide!"

"I won't forget! It's your death, you understand!" she screeched in an enraged tone. She spun on her heel and disappeared in a cloud of smoke leaving me with the stunned four. I looked down at my arm to see my hand bright red from where the attack made contact at my shield.

"Darn……I'm not yet there," I said flexing my hand. It was numb and wasn't moving like it was supposed to after using my shield. That wasn't a good sign at all. I looked out of the corner of my eye to see Yusuke getting up and said, "Call the scratch on your shoulder payback for the slug you gave me a while back."

"Deal," Yusuke laughed rubbing him shoulder. He looked away and muttered very quietly, "Harpy claws just like Botan."

"You'll find out personally if you keep running your mouth," I growled putting my hand into my pocket. I turned around to fully face them and looked to each of them hoping to see what was going to happen. Kurama wasn't surprised in the slightest that I was there and seemed to be slightly at ease. Kuwabara and Yusuke were completely stunned but seemed relieved that it was me standing before them. As for Hiei……only one word was needed to describe that look.

Murderous.

"_You've got guts showing your face around me you know that. I know that you knew how the fight would end and yet you still sat back and watched me lose,"_ Hiei growled telepathically to me. I stood there and looked at him for a moment before turning to fully face him and give a low bow to him.

"I apologize. If you still wish to 'rip my voice box out' I won't fight against you," I said in a quiet tone.

"Hn," Hiei sniffed placing his attention elsewhere, _"It seems that you already have someone else after your life as well. Aren't you the busy little meddler?"_

"_I take great pride in meddling. I'm sure you've already figured that out,"_ I replied quietly to him. Hiei gave me a very annoyed growl and I didn't manage to hide the smile that came to my face. I straightened up taking Hiei's huff of annoyance as a temporary dismissal and turned to Yusuke saying, "I'm here to help you in anyway I can. Do not hesitate to call on me in a fight."

"Sweet. After seeing you and the old hag go at it, I know you can fight! Let's go!" Yusuke said turning towards Labyrinth Castle. We walked forward right through some of the small fry demons that Kurama and Hiei easily struck down and made it straight to the Gate of Betrayal. I stopped for a moment and stared at the ominous entrance with distrust but of course this didn't go unnoticed.

"Are you going to back down on us now and go home where it's safe?" Hiei sneered back at me causing the group to give him dirty looks. It was odd for me that people actually cared if I took offense to what someone had said. So I quickly dismissed their dirty looks and answered him.

"Not particularly, no. I just had a little chill," I said shrugging him off. I took a small breath and shook away from all of the fears that came upon me. 'Hiei wouldn't betray them just because of me. No matter how much he disliked me……would he?'

"Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Let's go guys!" Yusuke said walking ahead of us into the dark tunnel entrance. Kuwabara and Kurama wordlessly followed as Hiei and I lagged behind.

"You can sense it too I take it. That's why you're so reluctant to enter," Hiei spoke in a tone that almost sounded like he was talking to himself but I knew he directed the statement at me.

"Well yes……There's……something about the entrance that I don't particularly like, but it doesn't really matter," I said shrugging. I walked forward after the other people of the group. Hiei quickly followed ahead of me and we soon came upon the end of the tunnel. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama suddenly stopped in front of us and Hiei and I looked around them to see that strange eye/bat-like creature flying in front of us. I growled under my breath and moved my feet apart to better support my weight since I knew what was coming next. Hiei gave me a strange look out of the corner of his eye but the creature began talking so he couldn't confront me.

"Welcome to Labyrinth Castle. Those who dare to enter will be tried at the Gate of Betrayal."

"TRIED?!" Yusuke and Kuwabara nearly shrieked in my ear.

"Here we go," I hissed as the creature pulled down the lever just yards in front of us. Instantly this strange grinding noise echoed above us and a few pebbles from the stone fell down from the ceiling and landed on my head. This was going to suck so badly. How do I get myself into these situations?! And what's worse. I'M CLAUSTROPHOBIC! It couldn't possibly get any worse from here……could it?

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_**ME:**_** Well, that's a few pages longer than what I usually write in an update. So I hope you like it! Please review and tell me what you think! (Oh and the demoness' name sounds like '**_**Morty'**_** just to let you know. So if you were having trouble saying that there you go.)**

_**Hiei:**_** The Gate of Betrayal……Hn……the possibilities.**

_**ME:**_** You're going to betray me aren't you?**

_**Hiei:**_** The opportunity is there. Why should I pass up such a chance?**

_**ME:**_** Well……you have a point there. Why pass up the chance? Yet, I can give you a reason! Because you can't kill me yet or the story ends here and there are some people that even if they don't admit it like this story!**

_**Hiei:**_** You have luck and that's all.**

_**ME:**_** Yes! Safe until next time! Yay! Alrighty people! Review for me! Please! Review! **


	6. Saint Beast Trouble

_**ME:**_** Hello again peoples! YAY! I'm so proud of this little story! Thank you all for reviewing and telling me what you think. It really helps me in the long run. Thank you all who have faved and alerted this story! Keep Reviewing please!**

_**Hiei:**_** She's just happy that she's got people who like this story.**

_**ME:**_** So what if I am? At least they're reading it and reviewing. That's what I asked for. So anyway here comes big scene where you might betray us (gaspeth).**

_**Hiei:**_** You're not worried which leads me to think that I won't.**

_**ME:**_** Why would I be worried? I'm the author! I can't die.**

_**Hiei:**_** Would you like to test that theory?**

_**ME:**_** I'd rather not……so let's get on with this story shall we?**

_**Hiei:**_** She owns only Rin Ishida and Morte.**

_**ME:**_** Thank you Hiei! For that I'll go often and listen to music like a 'calm, normal' girl.**

_**Hiei:**_** You're going off to listen to Wild Wind aren't you?**

_**ME:**_** Darn straight. Well, let's start the chapter then!**

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_Could anyone tell me what Hiei's theme song is called? I had it once but my computer deleted it on me! I have the duet between him and Kurama and even the trio with him, Kurama, and Kuwabara but I lost HIS song. (sniff) It's devastating. Please help me out if you can!_

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_**Chapter 6: Saint Beast Trouble**_

"Here we go," I hissed as the creature pulled down the lever just yards in front of us. Instantly this strange grinding noise echoed above us and a few pebbles from the stone fell down from the ceiling and landed on my head. This was going to suck so badly. How do I get myself into these situations?! And what's worse. I'M CLAUSTROPHOBIC! It couldn't possibly get any worse from here……could it?

I whipped my head up to see the ceiling closing down on us with amazing speed. I gave out a yelp of surprise causing the rest of the group to look up and see the danger as well. Everyone seemed completely stunned beyond speech except for Yusuke who shouted, "The ceiling's dropping!"

"No dip Sherlock!" I couldn't help but snap as I threw my hands up to catch the cold stone above me. The other four were just as quick as I was and we stopped the ceiling a good deal above us. The four guys began giving it all they had to keep the ceiling where it was but I had a sudden idea. What if I could fool the sensors into thinking I was weaker than I actually was? With that plan in mind I lowered my demonic energy before I thought the sensors could react and memorize my strength. I was still unsure if the plan would actually work but it was the best I had at the moment.

"The gate is keenly sensitive, quite smart, and very wicked. It analyzes the strength of each person and applies the exact amount of pressure that they can tolerate. If even one of you relaxes in the slightest-splat!" the bat-eye demon laughed in its annoying high pitched voice. Yusuke began to curse the demon to the darkest depths of the raging inferno below but the demon merely responded by laughing, "If one of you strives to save themselves by escaping, the others will be flattened. If none of you attempts a betrayal, you'll exhaust yourselves in this futile effort and die together. As you see only craven traitors may enter this castle. The choice is yours."

As soon as the demon's little speech ended the ceiling began coming down harder on us and I could start to feel my hands go numb at the amount of pressure I was putting in them. It wasn't helping matters at all for me that my stupid fear was kicking in and making the room spin in all sorts of directions that it wasn't supposed to. I could only close my eyes and release my demonic energy to keep myself from giving an inch and letting the ceiling sink further down on us. I was beginning to wonder when Hiei would get called out and save our rear ends when I suddenly felt something curl tightly around my ankle and jerk me slightly to the ground. I gave a small cry that alerted the guys that something was wrong. We all looked down at my ankle to see that a bind made of stone had come from the ground and tightly claimed my ankle as its resting place. The bind tightened once again and began pulling at my ankle from an angle that it wasn't supposed to move in. I swore loudly and let out a stream of curses flow from my lips. I was pretty sure that my comrades hadn't even heard of some of the words I was using but it didn't matter to me. Screw being calm and quite. My ankle was going to snap!

"We modified the Gate of Betrayal especially for you, Rin. We were told that you had to die here and now!" the demon laughed evilly.

"This……just sucks," I growled through grit teeth as I struggled to ignore the pain and keep a steady hold on the ceiling.

"We must…move that switch back up somehow," Yusuke gasped under the strain of the ceiling.

"We need someone fast and able to move out of narrow places easily," I agreed looking directly at Hiei's head. Said apparition gave a slight turn of his head and gave me a mild look of surprise at the suggestion. We made eye contact and once we did he was quick to question my trust.

"_Are you willing to trust me? I could easily sit back and watch you become as flat as a pancake,"_ Hiei sneered at me in contempt.

"_I'm surprise you even know what a pancake is,"_ I spat back in annoyance. I broke eye contact and glared up at the ceiling, which was still spinning to me, and continued in a slightly dazed tone, _"Besides I'm not the only one thinking it. There's something to be seen there."_

Right on cue, Yusuke came in with his brilliant plan.

"H-Hiei!" Yusuke suddenly shouted as he looked at his shorter comrade. Hiei gave him a look to acknowledge him and Yusuke hurriedly continued, "You're a lot faster than the rest of us. Run out and try to raise the lever by the eye-guy!"

Eye-guy……hehehehehehe……uh…not time for stupid jokes now so moving on.

Hiei gave Yusuke a slight look of surprise and confusion at the sudden trust he gained. Kuwabara's surprise and confusion was a completely different matter……in fact it was a much louder matter than it needed to be as he shouted, "Are you outta yer mind, Urameshi?! You go! You don't wanna trust that little creep!"

"So Mr. Flat Face is not a complete idiot after all. Do you really want to trust me?" Hiei asked in a flat tone. His question was directed at both Yusuke and me but it seemed that they only thought he was speaking to Yusuke so I stayed quiet. Kuwabara instantly began stuttering about Hiei's insult and while doing so shifted his weight causing the ceiling to fall another inch and a half.

"Shut your mouth you frizzy hair baka!" I snapped feeling my ankle pop because of the bind. I chomped down on my lip; hard enough to draw blood, and focused all my attention on keeping the ceiling up while I looked down at the ground. It wasn't doing me any good. I let out a low growl and said, "Hurry up."

"I can support your share of the weight for a second or two if I give it all I've got. Go, Hiei. Just don't take too long 'kay?" Yusuke gave Hiei one of his trademark confident and trusting grins.

"You won't be alone Urameshi. Count on it," I said straightening up to the best of my ability and began pushing against the ceiling with all I had. I gave a small smirk back to Hiei and said, "Let's see a speed demon in action."

Hiei thought it over for about a second and then dropped his arms to race out from under the ceiling. Instantly the ceiling seemed to triple in weight and it caused Yusuke and me to both growl as we pushed back with everything we had. The ceiling had sunk a good three inches before we stabilized it and I could see out of the corner of my eye that Kurama had really bent down under the pressure. I returned my attention to the lever where Hiei now stood with his hand on the handle. There was a strange unreadable expression on his face and for a second I saw his hand loosen its hold on the handle.

"What're you waitin' for? Raise the lever!" Kuwabara shrieked out at Hiei. The undecided look on Hiei's darkened and silence followed Kuwabara's cry.

"Think it over Lord Hiei. Leave them to their fate and I will escort you to Master Suzaku. A criminal of your caliber will be given a hearty welcome by the four beasts," the demon said laughing viciously at us. I bit back the urge to let my tongue lose again and watched as it suddenly turned its malicious eye on me, "You'll be killing that meddling demoness that forced her way into your group. You'd be rid of a nuisance you didn't deserve and watch as she takes her last breath."

That comment seemed to have decided Hiei's choice for him for his fingers once again tightened on the handle. I knew Hiei would save us……but what did that little smirk and glint in his eyes mean? I was pretty sure that whatever it was didn't mean an easy road for me. On the contrary……if he saved me it would only be so he could kill me personally. That much I knew.

"Yo shorty! You're gonna betray Urameshi's trust just like that?!" Kuwabara roared causing me to flinch away from him. My head began swimming even more and I swore I'd be in need of hearing aids soon if Kuwabara keeps shouting in my ears like that. I heard Hiei laughing and calling someone morons but even though I knew Hiei would be saving us soon my head wouldn't stop fading in and out of focus. Hiei shouted at the demon and threw the switch before dashing up and slicing the demon's eye out.

"Tell your Masters, I'll spare their lives if they'll submit to my will! They get one chance to beg for their lives! That's it!" Hiei shouted at the demon's retreating back. The ceiling suddenly stopped coming down and slowly rose up allowing me to fall to my knees. I landed at an odd angle because of the bind but I found myself feeling a bit better at being able to dig my nails into the sides of my head in frustration. When I was sure that I was calm I finally noticed someone at my side pulling me up to stand without the bind pulling at my foot. I turned and see Kurama standing there looking slightly concerned.

"I'm fine I swear. I just have a little problem with enclosed spaces," I whispered stepping away from him politely. Kurama looked at me for a moment before turning his attention to Yusuke and Hiei. I quickly did the same and saw Yusuke pat Hiei on the back with his smile plastered on his face. I have to admit, I had a new respect for Yusuke for holding up that excess weight. It was a lot harder than I had given them credit for.

"I didn't do it for your sake! This will go faster with backup!" Hiei growled pointing at the other three guys. I could see he was thinking about something but before I could ask what, he turned to me and hissed in warning, "You on the other hand, are a completely different matter. I am going to be the one who takes your life. It will be my blade that ends you and my blade alone. Understand?"

Then without waiting for a reply, Hiei turned on his heel and walked away down the hall. Kurama went up to Yusuke and Kuwabara saying, "Heh…in his own way, he's trying to say 'You're Welcome'."

"Didn't sound like he meant that towards Rin," Kuwabara noted in a huff.

"Oh that didn't need translations. He meant what he flat said. He's probably just thinking of a specific way he wants to kill me now," I said as a grin spread across my face.

"You don't exactly sound worried about it," Kuwabara persisted as we walked after Hiei.

"Well, the way I see it is that the only reason he hasn't killed me yet is because I can still be a good source of information. So as long as I can keep myself useful and provide good truthful information, he won't kill me. If I can't handle such a simple task as that then Hiei has every right to kill me," I said with a slight shrug. We finally caught up to Hiei and dropped the conversation by instead falling into silence. The longer the silence went on, the clearer my head became and the more I found myself thinking about the situation I had just landed myself in.

At the current moment in time I could tell that each of my new comrades-I was pretty sure that I had a ways to go until I could call them friends-had a different feeling about me every time they looked at me.

It seemed that Yusuke was the only one that considered me to be someone he could trust. He was finally ok with accepting me as an ally but I could tell that he was still itching to know how strong I was. It also seemed that Yusuke could tell I was about as much as a fighting freak as he was and that only made his urge to fight me even worse. Though he never voiced his desire to fight I could tell that Yusuke knew my violent nature was as bad as his. Kuwabara on the other hand had an entirely different set of feelings. I could sense that he had his doubts about me and was a little concerned for my welfare. I didn't take offense. After all I didn't even know my own limitations so how could I expect someone else to know and show respect? In my book, it was a good thing to have someone that would be willing to call out your faults for you best interest. Kurama also had his own view on my accompanying the group. All would seem to be fine except that I was something of a mystery to him and he wasn't ok with that. It was true that he trusted me well enough to be around his mother but there was a faint suspicion that I was planning something. Since he was unable to take a guess at what I might do or say, he was always watching closely for any hint of deception. I didn't blame him. After all, even a fox has to watch his back from outside tricksters.

As for Hiei……I don't think he gave a damn one way or the other. As long as I wasn't a liability or anything he seemed like it was nothing more than a small annoyance. I knew he didn't trust me enough to rely on me but I could tell that he was sure I wouldn't get myself into anything I couldn't handle or drag them down. He didn't seem to have any objections as long as I watched my own back and kept him out of my problems. Yet, I wasn't so foolish as to think that my presence didn't account for nothing. I figured that he was taking my presence into account and was waiting to make judgments on Yusuke, Kuwabara, and me. I was just going to have to wait and see.

"Hey…I just thought of something," I said suddenly. It was true enough and the four guys stopped to look back at me. I was sure to meet each of their eyes as I continued in a calm tone, "Altogether there are Four Saint Beasts and five of us. Those who are going to fight the four main guys should be at the top of their game and that may prove difficult if we meet any demons in these corridors. No doubt that plenty of demons, even if they're low in level, will roam these corridors with as much freedom as we do now."

"So what? We'll smash them on the way up," Yusuke said staying loyal to his consistently violent nature. It was enough to make me laugh. It was so strange actually knowing what was going to happen and trying to make them just stick with the program. Maybe my arrival had offset too many things and if anything happened to any of them it would be all because of me. I wasn't about to take that guilt on my shoulders willingly.

"I think she's saying that while four of us should fight the main enemies the last person should handle all the minor fights that aren't worth weakening ourselves over. Maybe using our extra as an advantage would be the best course of action to take," Kurama said quickly catching on to what I was implying.

"Exactly," I nodded slightly relieved that someone else caught on to it.

"You don't need to worry, Rin! I'll be more than happy to fight all the demons and keep you far from the battlefield!" Kuwabara said punching his chest.

"I appreciate the valor but it's you that concerns be most you baka," I answered in a flat tone that caused him to instantly fall silent and frown. I slightly shook my head and continued on with what I was saying, "Until we have a firm idea of what we'll be facing I think it'd be best if I took the corridor job. Then we'll decide what to do from there."

They were bound to the story line. I however was not. So I could choose to fight or tag along. At least……that's what I hoped for anyway. The only thing I knew for sure was that I had to keep them from straying to far from what originally happened. Playing the card of strategy was a wise decision and always worked for me before.

"That's a reasonable plan but wouldn't it be wiser to save our strongest fighters for the four beasts? If that's the case then the baka over there should be put on corridor patrol to fight the minor annoyances. Surely he should be able to do that much," Hiei growled pointing over at Kuwabara.

"You wanna say it to my face half-pint?!" Kuwabara shouted instantly taking offense.

"Enough!" I nearly shouted at them. I pinched the bridge of my nose and forced myself to bite back my annoyance. After being sure I could speak civilly to them I looked up completely expecting them to still be going at it. Instead, they both had stepped back and were patiently waiting for me to say something else. I stared at them completely stunned and temporarily lost my train of thought. Smooth, real smooth.

"_Heh heh…maybe having a female influence around will be good for them," _Kurama chuckled telepathically to me. I barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"_I highly doubt it. Yusuke and Kuwabara are already trained there. I don't think there's much more I could do to improve it,"_ I answered in a calm manner as I gave Yusuke and Kuwabara looks from the corners of my eyes.

"_That may be very well true but I've still never seen Hiei calm down so quickly," _Kurama replied in a sly manner.

"_What?!"_ I gasped finally catching on to what he was implying. I immediately felt my face burn red and I quickly turned my eyes to the floor. I bit down on my lip and hissed, _"That's not funny!"_

"_It's the truth,"_ Kurama answered disconnecting with me.

"Well, now that that's decided let's get going!" Yusuke spun on his heel and quickly began making his way down the corridor.

"Well isn't he just a bundle of energy?" I hissed in a dark tone as I gave Yusuke a sour look. No one bothered to answer me as Kurama and Kuwabara immediately went after him. I sighed and began to move after them but suddenly found my path blocked by Hiei. I was a little startled by his sudden movement and even more startled by the serious look that he had plastered on his face. Uh-oh. What's wrong now?

"You'd better be able to handle whatever is thrown at you. I refuse to be burdened by dead weight and if I must take you down myself I will not hesitate. Consider yourself warned," Hiei hissed yet another warning at me.

I stared at him for a moment with a serious look before breaking into a smile. Hiei had not expected that emotion and stood there with a slightly surprised look on his face as I answered, "I understand. Trust me though. I don't plan on dying in a place like this and I don't plan on weighing you guys down either. Just lead the way and I follow you to the best of my ability or die trying."

"Hn," Hiei answered turning his back to me. I waited until he was a good five feet in front of me before I followed him after the group. The rest of the walk went on in complete silence and I began glancing around the corridors to see what Labyrinth Castle looked like in person. I only needed a grand total of three words to describe what I saw.

Scary as hell.

It was a lot darker than depicted in the anime and manga with various bones littering the hall floors like someone had just discarded them carelessly for intruders to step on. There was this god awful smell that wafted through the halls and I could only connect to the smell of something rotting. I didn't even want to connect those dots. At some points the shadows that were plenty around corners and halls were so dark and seemed to move along the twisting halls. The place was far more sinister and it was full of a strange scent that plagued my sense of small. This may sound cheesy and all but if I had to put a name with that horrid stench I'd call it death.

After walking for what seemed like hours on end we slowly came up to a turn that seemed to mean something good for us. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and I all perked up slightly and I thought that we were finally going to come up on Genbu's lair. I was nearly crushed when we came around that corner and yet another long hall stretched out before us.

"Man! I can see why this place is called Labyrinth Castle," I groaned slapping my forehead.

"Find some stairs that'll take us up. Big bosses like to hang out on top floors," Yusuke said walking ahead of us. I rolled my eyes at his back and continued walking. No dip Sherlock! Jeeze. How many times is he going to be named Captain Obvious in one freakin' day?!

Before I could continue further with my mental rant, Yusuke's communicator rang and he quickly answered it. Botan's acid ray of sunshine voice rang out through the hall and I quickly put my attention elsewhere. I didn't know why but Botan was one of those characters that really, really, REALLY bugged me. Since I wasn't in any mood to listen to what she had to say I started singing Wild Wind in my mind and got about a minute into it when her voice suddenly stopped sounding so bright and cheerful. I stopped ignoring the conversation and listened just as Botan asked, "Um……listen Yusuke……did you meet……"

I sighed, "She's worried that you ran into me. I did have to push my own way after you guys to get here."

"I'm really sorry Yusuke. I tried to close the portal right after you left but she stopped me and got in. I couldn't do anything to stop her," Botan apologized to him.

"Don't worry about it Botan. Rin's already saved my life once. I think its ok to trust her now," Yusuke said smiling at me.

"Psh. Hey Miss Sunshine," I walked over to Yusuke's side and looked down at the communicator, "Did you tell Koenma that I was here or did you actually decide to give me a break?"

"He knows," she said simply.

"Damn. I'm so freaking screwed now," I growled pushing away from Yusuke. I walked away from the group and growled, "Man, now I have to go through some stupid interrogation and then not to mention him deciding if it's safe for me to be out around humans……man this is going to be one trying ordeal."

Yusuke hung up with Botan and said, "Don't worry Rin. I'll put in some good words for you."

"Don't be so quick to trust Yusuke. I could very well betray you just because I can. You should always be ready for someone you trust to stab you in the back. It happens way too often to ignore," I said glancing over my shoulder at him. Yusuke seemed slightly caught off guard by that statement and the others looked equally startled……well except for Hiei that is. Of course, he looked ready to add his own two-bits to it. Why am I not surprised?

"You sound as if you've had personal experience," Hiei took note in a slightly curious tone. I shrugged off his question and we began walking down the hall yet again. We managed to cover a little more distance before Kuwabara decided that he couldn't stand the silence anymore. What was so wrong with just walking dang it?

"What do you know about these four beasts, Kurama? I mean, I have no idea what we're about to face," Kuwabara asked causing Kurama to give him a thoughtful glance. I quickly saw Kurama's eyes flicker over to me and I merely shrugged knowing everything he was about to say word for word. Kurama took the hint that I already was aware of what we were going up against so he decided to enlighten Yusuke and Kuwabara.

"Well, as you may have gathered from the special measures the Underworld took to restrict them, they're very dangerous. And they don't look at all human, so brace yourself for that," Kurama said carefully choosing his words. Kuwabara's face paled a bit and I saw Yusuke's eyes flicker. They were ready for a fight now.

"Such high praise. I blush!" a voice roared from a ways ahead of us. I flinched at the sound of Genbu's grating voice and looked ahead to see the door that would lead us straight into Genbu's lair. I rubbed my now ringing ears and let out a low growl.

"Let's go," Yusuke said running towards the door with Kuwabara on his heels. Not really caring what the other two demons of the group thought about it, I ran up and skid to a sudden stop behind them. I had to admit that even after being in this world for a while and knowing its dangers, I was really interested in see what a demon like Genbu would look like. It was interesting to see what could KILL ME-note a large amount of sarcasm. Yusuke grabbed the handles of the door and threw them open. As soon as his sight fell on Genbu he asked, "This is one of them?!"

"Fugly," I coughed barely hiding my smile. Even though he looked ugly as hell, Genbu did look kind of cool as well. In the anime there was a slight difference in color between Genbu and the stone around him but here they were the exact same color. At first it was difficult for me to find where his feet were but when he moved I could see where the floor ended and he began. He was freaking huge! I had to pull my head back a bit just to get him all in my sight. To me he looked like a mutated scorpion, turtle, and gorilla all fused together in one huge mess of stone. The odd spikes all over his were very sharp and he was by far the strangest thing I've come across in this world yet……yet being the key word there.

"Welcome, I, Genbu will take goooooood care of you. Behind me is the one staircase in the castle that leads up. Defeat me and gain the stairs…or die," Genbu laughed in that horrible voice of his. It reminded me of the time my friend dragged her long nails-more like claws-across the chalkboard. I was never the same after that and now I have the feeling its going to be a repeat of the past. If they could my ears would've been profusely bleeding at the sound. I was surprised that he could even move. He was so freaking huge that you think it would be hard! It was definitely weird to be standing there staring up at something that I grew up thinking was completely imaginary……Oh how I would love to show the scientists back home about this and watch them wet themselves! Hahahahahaha………moving on.

Genbu raised his tail above his head and then slammed it on the ground as hard as he possibly could. Sharp shards of rock were sent soaring straight at us and no one had time to pull out their weapon to strike them down. I pushed myself in front of them and thrust my hand forward calling forth my demonic shield. It spread all around us like a protective dome and rocks began pounding at us from all directions. My hand instantly went numb and my arm began to follow but I still kept up the shield with ease. Thank you Master Genkai. Her training did help……even if it was god damn painful. Soon all the rocks that were hitting us disintegrated and I was able to lower my shield without the fear of getting injured. My arm instantly fell to my side and I back-stepped behind Hiei and Kurama to try and regain the feeling in my arm.

"So you can fight. Well, come at me all at once! It'll save time…for me anyway," Genbu laughed coldly. I gave a small snort and looked to Kurama to see he was ready for a fight. I could see it in his eyes. Kurama was ready to fight Genbu and he looked ready for what was going to come at him.

"I'll give it a whirl. Let's see how he handles once of us before we commit to a joint attack. Anyway, I can't let Hiei have all the fun and take all the bows," Kurama said with a smile as he volunteered.

"Is it a contest to see who will have the most spotlight or something?" I smiled slightly. What Kurama just said did sound a like something someone younger than him would say and it just struck me as funny.

"Feh! Who cares!" Hiei hissed turning his head away from us.

"Show him how a real demon fights Kurama," I said giving him a thumbs up.

Kurama acknowledged me with a nod and he walked forward with a confident stride. While Hiei and I were absolutely positive that everything was going to be fine, Yusuke and Kuwabara were definitely concerned. Yusuke leaned over to Kuwabara and began whispering, "Look, maybe we could sneak around him…"

"Relax. Kurama may surprise you," Hiei quickly cut him off. Yusuke and Kuwabara looked at him doubtfully while Hiei never took his eyes off the two fighters in front of him as he continued, "Fact is, I teamed up with him because that's a lot smarter than going against him. Threaten him and he gets vicious in ways even I don't like to think about."

"He has quite the reputation to say the least. Getting him to consider you as an enemy is a bad move," I agreed crossing my arms. I flashed a smile over at Hiei and said, "I think he's part of the reason that Hiei hasn't tried to kill me yet. Hiei has a certain respect for Kurama and vice versa. If I'm friends with one, I'm friends with the other."

Hiei shot me a glare that instantly made me shut up. Jeeze. I didn't think anyone else but me could make a face that reminded someone of the devil. But there it is. Hiei has seemed to have perfected the art of it as well. Maybe he and I could become good friends once he got over his little grudge……maybe

"Whenever you're ready," Kurama said calmly looking over at Genbu. Genbu merely smirked as he stared the red head in the eyes in what seemed to be a never ending staring contest. I was waiting for Yusuke to take notice of the tail thing already but as I glanced out of the corner of my eye I saw that he wasn't paying any attention to Genbu's tail. Something inside my stomach flipped and I turned to see that Genbu was indeed melting his tail into the floor…but at an angle that none of the group, save me could see. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I was the only one who knew what was coming and if Kurama didn't move in time he was going to get nailed and possibly killed. I balled my fists and shouted, "Kurama, look behind you!"

Kurama's head spun around just in time to catch sight of Genbu launching his tail at him from the ground and he barely jumped back in time to avoid the full hit. Yet, his lead feet had a drawback and Genbu's tail sliced through some of the skin on his stomach……in the dead exact spot that Hiei had stabbed him earlier. Instantly the smell of his blood was thick in the air and I found myself stepping back trying to rid myself of the scent. Back home there was only two types of blood I could deal with. I could take care of my own bleeding with ease and if it was a really, really important emergency I could handle other people's blood……but now with my sharpened sense of smell it was overwhelming me. I stood behind the rest of them and composed myself.

'_I'm not weak……so get over this damn little problem,'_ I hissed to myself. Another voice tried to argue but I quickly out voiced them to silence. I took a deep breath and moved back to my spot refocusing my attention on the fight. Kurama was breathing unevenly and pressing his hand into the wound to stop the bleeding. Genbu began to explain about his advantage but I was far more focused on Kurama. I wasn't the only one as Yusuke shouted, "Kurama, say something! Anything!"

"It's ok. I've had worse…as you know. Genbu just caught me off guard is all," Kurama answered in a calm tone. I saw his eyes briefly flicker to Hiei at the wound comment and Hiei merely let out his monosyllable. I smiled as Kurama straightened up and said, "That would've been bad if Rin hadn't given a heads up. I'll have to be more observant from now on."

I returned my focus to Genbu who was smiling deviously. The strange thing was that he wasn't sinking into the ground like he did in the manga. I stared at him in confusion for a moment trying to figure out what he was doing. Then I saw something that screamed out suspicious to me. Genbu was submerging his right hand and his right hand alone. What was this bastard made of stone planning anyway? I looked at him and caused my comrades to tense as I shouted, "What are you doing over there?!"

"It's a well known fact that all females are a tasty delicacy and you freely walked into my lair without a single hesitation. Therefore I have the right to eat you after I kill off your annoying pest friends!" Genbu laughed as his hand suddenly shot out of the ground before me. I let out a yelp of surprise and brought my hands up just as the hand completely curled around my upper body. The hand then forced me back and pinned me to the wall. Did I mention how freaking big this guy's hand was? Well, incase I didn't, he could over lap his thumb over his fingers and still not crush me in the slightest! Yet, he wasn't worried about crushing me. In fact he was tightening his grip on my body and it felt like someone was crushing my lungs.

There had only been one other time I felt like this in my whole life. It was when my friends were dog piling each other and they tackled me out of nowhere. There were about seven of them on top of me and my claustrophobia kicked in on me. I passed out and when I woke up I was in my mom's arms. That was the last time I ever allowed my fears to get to me……until now.

"No……I can't lose it," I gasped trying to breathe against the tightening hand. What would the guys think of me then? What would happen to me against Morte if I couldn't even save myself here? I didn't even want to think about it. I closed my eyes and tried to push my arms against his hand to feel it move a centimeter and then tighten again. I slowly opened my eyes and glared at Genbu hissing in a deadly tone, "Damn you."

"Rin!" Yusuke ran back and stopped by my side. He began trying to pull against the curling fingers but Genbu tightened his hand. This time he effectively cut off my passage of breathing. I gasped out one last time taking as much air as I could and commenced holding my breath. Yusuke tried to grab one of the fingers and uncurl it from around me but Genbu's grip was dead set and he wasn't letting go for anything. Yusuke didn't get discouraged and tried to once again pull it away but he finally fell back unable to even budge Genbu's grip.

"How long do you think she'll be able to last without breathing? I only give her ten minutes at the most before her lungs fail," Genbu laughed tightening his hand around me even more. Then he looked at the rest of the group and said, "If any of you make any sudden movements I'll crush her body with the slightest move of my hand."

"Cocky……bastard," I growled quietly. Genbu looked at me in the eyes and I continued, "I……I'm not……holding them back……not now……So let me go!"

I began pushing my hand against him once again with everything I had and his hand began to uncurl around me. Instantly air began to flood back into my lungs and the feeling in my arms likewise returned. Finally I managed to push his hand half an arms length away from me and I quickly began calling forth water currents to my hands. I made the water that I called forth violently wash from side to side across his hand hoping to weather it down. I smiled in triumph as it began to turn his hand into gravel. Genbu growled in pain and instantly called his hand back to him allowing me to fall onto my knees in a crouching position like a wolf ready to strike.

"Just because I still haven't learned how to control all of my powers doesn't mean you can underestimate me!" I laughed as Genbu looked down at his hand. Genbu gave a snort and disappeared into the ground before our very eyes. I pushed myself to stand and swayed on my feet but after Yusuke stabilized me I move to Kuwabara and Hiei's side shouting to Kurama, "Carefully sense for him! He'll come up silently! You can't trust your eyes."

Kurama's eyes sparked as he listened and I saw him tense. Through his eyes I could literally see the wheels turning to form the idea I knew he'd use against Genbu. I smiled and realized that I may have given him the idea a little too soon. Opps. My bad. I sighed and looked to my right to see Yusuke and Kuwabara engrossed in the fight but when I turned to my left I saw that Hiei was looking at me. I resisted the urge to show my worry and was about to ask him something when he suddenly said, _"It seems that I may have underestimated you after all. I will have to be careful not to do that again."_

"_Thanks for the compliment. I'm trying to keep myself from burdening you guys so you could really call anything I do here 'devious instinct',"_ I replied rubbing the back of my neck slightly embarrassed.

"'_Devious Instinct'……if that's the case then you and Kurama would make a good team to have when faced with certain challenges,"_ Hiei replied turning his attention back to the fox demon ahead of us.

"_That may be but you're good to have around for too many reasons to count. And if you need an example use what happened at the Gate of Betrayal. Some call it weakness but I see that differently. In fact the way I see it is that you had to be very strong to be able to do that," _I replied cracking my shoulder back into place. It was then that I noticed that some of the bones in my right arm were out of place. I discreetly began popping them all back into place without the other three noticing. This was a surprise seeing as I flinched every time I did it. The mere thought of this back home would've creeped me out but here……it was different……strange how being in a new place changes a person.

"_What are you rambling about?"_ Hiei growled telepathically.

"_Never mind. If you don't understand what I said now I guarantee you'll get it later on," _I answered looking ahead of me at Kurama who was calmly surveying the area around him. Hiei gave me his monosyllable yet again and we both began intently watching the scene before us.

Kurama was the very definition of calm as he looked around the area for the stone demon that was trying to kill him. Knowing where the foul beast was going to come up next I looked to the ground just behind Kurama to see it moving. My entire body tensed and Kurama spun around to call out, "Another Sneak Attack!"

Genbu jumped out from the stone and launched his body at Kurama from one side and sent his tail at Kurama from the other side. I balled my fists as Kuwabara shouted, "He's gettin' it from both sides!"

"Low life cheating bastard!" I hissed through clenched teeth. I continued growling incoherently about Genbu as Kurama spun and did a version of a one handed cart-wheel to dodge the attack. Yet as soon as Kurama landed Genbu once again sunk into the ground and I lost tack of him. I bit down on my lip and growled to myself, "I'm having trouble finding him."

"_Then you're weaker than I thought,"_ Hiei replied telepathically to me. I shot him a dirty look and growled at him sounding a lot more wolf like than I ever had before. I bit back my smart remark and refocused my annoyance into tracking down Genbu's demonic aura. It was pretty difficult because Genbu was able to hide his aura within the stone and this made it nearly impossible to track. I'll give him his credit. He was pretty damn smart.

"You won't win just by dodging, demon thief!" Genbu roared jumping at Kurama from behind. Kurama easily dodged out of the way and landed calmly on his knees.

"You have a point. It's time I gave as well as got," Kurama reached back into his long red hair and pulled out a simple but beautiful rose. Kurama gave a confident smile and it was clear that the fight was decided as soon as that rose had touched his fingers. I smiled and relaxed. I had to admit that I was excited in seeing Kurama's Rose Whip…after all, the rose is my favorite flower.

"A ROSE?! Kurama, are you crazy?!" Yusuke shouted at him as if he lost his mind.

"This isn't just any rose…" Kurama raised the rose above his head and a line of petals began to fall around him. He suddenly snapped it down and the petals whirled around him. When the petals had cleared up a bit I could see one of Kurama's hands was gripping the handle of the whip while the other was holding it near the middle being careful of the thorns, "…It's my Rose Whip!"

"Dare I say it……Flower Power?" Kuwabara stuttered in disbelief with a sweat-drop.

"The room smells…nice. What's going on?" Yusuke stammered looking a little more dimwitted that he usually did. I had to agree with him though. The room smelled pleasant and I found myself relaxing even more.

"Alright Kurama! Kick his ass straight to hell!" I laughed giving Kurama a confident gesture of punching my hand into the air. Yusuke and Kuwabara looked at me with small smiles and Hiei gave a snort of contempt. Kurama smiled and gave a slight nod before looking around for Genbu's aura. Kurama closed his eyes and ignored the demon's condescending words as he worked to find him. I looked up to where Genbu would appear and gave a slight stagger as his scent reached my nose.

It was the foulest smell I had ever come upon. I've never before smelled anything as bad as that. It was like a mixture of mold, decay, and some other things that I would rather not mention. I knew then that if I had caught it from where I was standing that Kurama could smell it from where he was standing.

"Ah! Up there!" Kurama suddenly called opening his eyes and looking up directly above him. Genbu was already out of the ceiling and on the offensive before he even saw what Kurama's ace was.

"How did you know?!"

"Heh! I smelled your aura! Now that the air's been purified by the scent of roses its easy to pinpoint your putrid scent!" Kurama answered with a smug smile.

"He's got him!" Hiei said with a confident look on his face, "The thorns on that whip can cut through steel like a hot knife through butter!"

"That's one hell of a weapon and since Kurama almost always has some kind of access to a plant he becomes a very formidable enemy and a great ally," I said crossing my arms calmly. I watched as Kurama used Thorn Whiplash to cut through Genbu like a knife. It didn't even take ten full seconds before Genbu was lying as a huge mound of rubble before us. Ever part of Genbu except a part of his head was cut to pieces and I found myself staring into the demon's eyes. Kurama began walking over to us and Yusuke and Kuwabara began to celebrate but I tensed on instinct as seeing Genbu's eyes suddenly blink.

I don't care what anyone says about this but a head that has been taken off of its body is NOT supposed to blink damn it!

"That guy wasn't so tough after all!" Kuwabara laughed mockingly.

"You dolt! Kurama made it look easy, but you'd have been dead at Genbu's first strike," Hiei said condescendingly to Kuwabara.

"Why d'you keep torquein' me off every time you open your yap?!" Kuwabara growled getting in Hiei's emotionless face.

"Why the hell do you two keep starting fights for now f-ing reason?" I growled effectively shutting them both up. Yusuke gave me a little smile and shook his head as I suddenly heard Genbu start moving again. I whipped my head around and Kurama's grip tightened on the whip.

"We're not done here," he said quietly moving away from us to face Genbu once again. I watched slightly interested as Genbu began reassembling himself like it was a puzzle he had done a thousand times before. I wonder how many other times he fought and ended up reassembling himself before all of this.

"As you see, I find being sliced to pieces no more than a moment's inconvenience," Genbu laughed as he picked up his head from the ground. He raised it over his head and placed it there. Once it was secured he twisted his neck causing it to give a cracking sound. I shuddered. How the heck was stone supposed to give the sound that bones make?

Kuwabara began stuttering something or other about being un-killable and I quickly interrupted him, "As long as its alive it can be killed. You just have to figure out how and I'm pretty sure Kurama will be able to do that without too much trouble."

"Keep telling yourself that you naïve little demoness. After this attack I'll take you down myself!" Genbu roared lunging at Kurama as his limbs began to detach themselves, "Exploding rock! Take that thief!"

The kitsune leapt back and began slicing away at the attack that was thrown at him. Except for another small hit to his already wounded stomach Kurama landed on his feet without much more damage done to him. Genbu began calling his body back to him and it was then that Kurama and I both caught sight of the control stone that put Genbu back together. The stone demon was quick to hide it within his body once again but Kurama had caught sight of it and was currently forming a plan to use it against him.

"Heh, heh. As I said a mere inconvenience," Genbu laughed mockingly at Kurama. Then the demon looked at Kurama and his face was drained of all amusement as he shouted, "You bore me twerp. Die!"

"Stupid idiot. Kurama's got him now and he doesn't even realize it," I mused shaking me head. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei looked at me with curious looks but I shrugged them off and motioned for them to watch Kurama. They grudgingly turned their attention away from me and watched as Kurama dodged yet another vicious onslaught. Yet just as he was falling back Hiei and I both leaned forward slightly as we watched Kurama's hand curl around something and bring it close to him. Hiei smirked and telepathically said, _"That devious fox."_

"_He's got quite a few tricks up his sleeves doesn't he?"_ I replied as Genbu began to pull himself together once again.

"Still breathing but clearly no fight left," Genbu laughed as he continued to reassemble himself. Even though Kurama was weak and injured he smiled and began laughing at Genbu. It was unsettling for Genbu and asked, "Has fear snapped your mind?!"

"It's not his head that has something wrong!" I laughed holding my stomach laughing. I couldn't help it. The way Genbu's body had reassembled itself was just too funny! It took a moment but we were both soon joined by Yusuke and Kuwabara who were just dying. I swore I even heard a slight snicker from Hiei as well. It made it all the funnier when Genbu realized what was happening and began to freak out.

"Looking for this?" Kurama inquired calmly as he held the stone out in front of him. He turned it in his hands and continued, "I figure this is your control core, the part that keeps all the pieces of your body organized. You made it look like any other piece of you but I saw the glint as it emitted energy. Part of my success as a thief you see, is that I'm good at finding what's hidden."

Then in an instant the stone was in the air and completely destroyed. I never knew Kurama could move so fast and it was pretty impressive. We moved forward to Kurama's side to congratulate him when I noticed that something was off. Genbu wasn't crumbling down to the ground like he should've been. My eyes narrowed and it was clear that Genbu was defeated but why was he still standing?

Then it hit me. Morte was here and I knew she was going to try and get us all killed. Instantly Genbu's body began trembling and I said telepathically to Hiei, _"Help Kurama! I've got Yusuke and Kuwabara!"_

We reacted quickly and I had already called my shield up when Genbu's body suddenly exploded sending rubble flying across the air. Hiei quickly took care of any pieces that came his way and I began repelling the stone with my shield. Until suddenly the form of Genbu's hand shattered the shield and caught me straight in the forehead. I was sent reeling back into the wall and was covered up by the rubble. I only have one thing to say.

THAT HURT LIKE HELL!

"That sucked," I griped pushing up some of the rubble that fell on me. It was pretty difficult seeing that there was so much stone on me that it could've come from a fifty foot pillar. Despite that my demonic strength was just enough to move some of it off of me without even sitting up all the way.

"Is everyone alright?!" Yusuke's voice called from the other side of the rubble.

"Yeah only because of Rin's shield," Kuwabara answered as I heard him moving some rubble away from him.

"We're likewise alright," Kurama answered as I heard Hiei's sword slide into its sheath. I sighed and began pushing against the rubble again as Kurama continued, "The real question should be is Rin alright."

"That baka onna should be fine. If she hasn't gotten her meddling self killed yet than I doubt a little bit of rock will do the trick," Hiei answered in a stiff tone.

"Thanks for the concern!" I said loudly from where I was. I quietly added, "jackass" before punching the rubble instead of moving it. It flew away from me and I immediately jumped up to my feet. I walked over to them dusting myself off and rolling my neck and arms to make sure nothing was broken. I stopped in front of them and noticed that Yusuke and Kuwabara were looking at my forehead. I gave them a curious look as I lifted up my hand to feel my forehead.

I froze. Crimson began running down my fingers and hand. Underneath my hand was a part in the skin and it was cold to the touch. A metallic smell entered my nose and a shiver ran down my spine. There were only two things that made me feel better about the fact that I had blood all over my hand and two alone. At least it was my own and I wasn't able to see the wound.

I let out a stream of curses and took my hand away from the wound. I grit my teeth and wondered what I was going to do when Hiei suddenly held out a bandage to me. I looked at him for a moment before taking it from him. I opened my mouth to thank him when he suddenly said, "Don't thank me. I'm only thinking about what the demons might do if they caught scent of your blood. It might excite them or something."

My face soured. I began using the bandage without another word. Fine if that's the way he wants to play it then he doesn't get a thank you. I'm not out to win a popularity contest anyway. Yet, as I looked out of the corner of my eye I saw that Kurama was smirking. Damn that Kitsune. The bandage did mean more than just a cover and he knew it. That fox is too smart for his own good dang it! But……did that mean Hiei was actually……concerned?

I looked at him to see him already heading for the staircase. He looked over his shoulder and said, "Those demons will die of old age before we get to them at this rate."

Nope. I don't think he really gave a damn one way or the other. Cue sweat-drop with mushroom sigh. Who needs enemies with a friend like Hiei? Maybe I should've taken my chances with Morte. Hiei was proving to be more dangerous than she was at the moment!

-------------

_**ME:**_** Well, there's chapter six for you. I'm hoping to have a Saint Beast fight per chapter from here until the end of that part but then again you never know. Things change ever day.**

_**Hiei:**_** You have problems with blood and enclosed spaces huh?**

_**ME:**_** Yeah I already know that's pretty pathetic. I'm not worried about it really, because I'm steadily getting over it.**

_**Hiei:**_** Yes……You seem to be very happy when you're typing this story.**

_**ME:**_** Darn straight I am! I'm obsessed with Yu-Yu Hakusho and love writing stories about them! So people please give me a few more reviews and tell me what you think! I need some more feedback! **


	7. One Fugly Kitty

_**ME:**_** YES! MWAHAHAHAHAHA! (Jumping up and down like a maniacal idiot.)**

_**Hiei:**_** (Watches me for a second before grabbing his sword and cracks me in the back of the head with it.) Calm down you baka onna!**

_**ME:**_** (Hits the ground like a ton of bricks with swirly eyes.)**

_**Hiei:**_** (Pokes my unconscious form with his foot) I may have lost my temper there……is she supposed to twitch like that?**

_**ME:**_** (out cold)**

_**Kurama:**_** (Walking up) Oh dear……I wonder what she was so happy about?**

_**Hiei:**_** I don't know.**

_**Kurama:**_** So do you walk around knocking happy people unconscious for no apparent reason?**

_**Hiei:**_** ……Shut up fox.**

_**Kurama:**_** So……what should we do now?**

_**Hiei:**_** Hide the body.**

_**Kurama:**_** She's not dead, Hiei!**

_**Hiei:**_** (mutters something that sounds like 'might as well be'.) Fine……I guess we'll just have to start the chapters ourselves.**

_**Kurama:**_** The authoress only owns her characters……I wonder how long she'll be out of it.**

_**Hiei:**_** I have no idea. Let's start the chapter and hope she doesn't come to until next chapter. Chapter Start.**

**-------------**

_Has anyone heard the song Real Emotion from FFX-2? OMG that's an awesome song. Not nearly as good as Wild Wind though but still pretty dang good._

**-------------**

_**Chapter 7: That's One Fugly Kitty**_

Nope. I don't think he really gave a damn one way or the other. Cue sweat-drop with mushroom sigh. Who needs enemies with a friend like Hiei? Maybe I should've taken my chances with Morte. Hiei was proving to be more dangerous than she was at the moment!

I sighed and moved to follow him. Kurama straightened up and followed us at a somewhat slower pace while Kuwabara and Yusuke raced straight past Hiei to get up the stairs. I walked behind Kurama to make sure that he wouldn't double over and looked at what I could see of his face. The smell of fresh blood was thick in the air and I knew that Kurama had to be in pain even if he wouldn't let anyone else know about it. It wasn't so much the smell of the blood that bothered me but it was the images that came with it. I was imagining all the times back home I had seen horrible things that were associated with blood. Like one time when my friend's arm got skinned up when she went off a ramp on her bike. The image of her bloody arm made me shiver and wince as I thought of how much pain she had to have been in. Stupid empathy! We slowly made our way up the stairs in silence but as soon as we came to the top Kurama looked back to me and said, "Are you alright?"

"Huh? Yeah, why?" I stuttered slightly caught off guard. Shouldn't I be asking HIM if he was alright instead of the other way around? I swear sometimes I didn't understand other people……or demons for that matter.

"You seem tense and you're digging your nails into your hands," Kurama gestured to my hands. I looked down in surprise to see he was right. Whoops.

"Oh…uh……bad memories. Don't mind me," I said uncurling my hand. We began walking yet again and I noticed more bones littered the ground around us. These Saint Beasts were real pigs. Gack! Yet, no one else seemed concerned with it so I continued walking and was just about to ignore everything around me until I noticed that Yusuke kept glancing back over his shoulder. At first I thought he was checking on Kurama but then I finally noticed that his eyes always met mine. He was looking at me. I stopped and sighed, "What do you want to ask Urameshi?"

They stopped and Yusuke rubbed the back of his neck like he was caught doing something he shouldn't have been. He looked at me and said, "That obvious huh?"

"Oh no, I'm used to people boring holes into me with their eyes," I answered sarcastically. Then I stopped and thought about it for a moment…ok maybe I was used to people staring at me and thinking I'm weird but……none of them needed to know that did they?

"Well, I was just a little curious. I mean, I know that Kurama's a fox demon with great control over plants and I know Hiei's a wicked fast fire demon with awesome swordsmanship……I was just wonder what kind of demon you were," Yusuke said scratching the side of his face in curiosity. Only two words flashed through my mind at that point. They seemed to be the most appropriate choice of words I could come up with at the sudden question he just asked.

Oh shit.

"Uh…does it really matter?" I laughed nervously. I had no way to answer them! If I really had become Rin Ishida then I was a Fire/Water/Lightning Wolf Demoness…who didn't exactly have full control over her own powers…I really couldn't imagine how that would blow over with them though. Telling them I couldn't control my own powers wasn't the most comforting thing I could say……and I really didn't want them thinking I was even more of a liability than they already did.

"I'm curious as well. You seemed highly sensitive to Genbu's scent and you flinch whenever someone raises their voice past a certain point," Kurama stated looking at me curiously. Then he looked over at Hiei and said, "Not to mention the feat of tracking Hiei's speed and matching it to a degree."

I frowned at him, "I'm beginning to get the feeling you guys are corning me and gaining up on me. Fine, if you really have to know I'm a wolf demon."

Silence.

"That explains a bit," Kurama said nodding. I could tell by the sound of his voice that he was going to drop his persistence from there. Thank you Kurama! You are officially my favorite of this group now……after Hiei of course.

"That would explain your growling!" Kuwabara laughed in his annoying voice. I smacked my forehead and counted to ten……then twenty……then to five. When I felt I could talk civilly, I looked up as Kuwabara asked, "So what elements and weapons do you use to fight?"

"A little bit of this and a little bit of that. You'll find out later," I said walking past them. When I was a little ways in front of them I turned around and said, "We don't have time for idle chitchat. Let's get moving alright?"

They quickly agreed and we once again began making our way towards Byakko's lair. As we walked, Yusuke turned to Kurama and asked, "How ya doin', Kurama?"

"Not bad. I'm still on my feet," Kurama said trying to reassure but he winced in pain quickly striking that illusion. Oh yeah. That was _REAL_ believable, Kurama.

"You won't be much good in a fight though. Without you the rest of us will have to deal with what's ahead," Hiei said briefly looking at Kuwabara in doubt.

"_Still feeling a bit condescending towards humans, I see," _I smirked at Hiei. I knew I was pushing my luck but I couldn't help but say, _"I thought that would've changed when Yusuke struck you down. You're pretty stubborn aren't you?"_

"_Hn. Watch the water you're treading. It might just turn violent on you,"_ Hiei growled back in annoyance. I immediately bit my tongue and fell quiet. We yet again stopped to watch Kuwabara show of his Reiki Sword and have the group realize that he was a bit stronger than they realized. I was a bit distracted though because I could smell something suspicious. There was another demonic scent in the hall with us.

I turned my back on the guys and quietly slinked through the shadows down the hall. I stopped at a corner and peered around it to see a group of smaller demons. They weren't much but in the enclosed space they would be able to move behind unsuspecting enemies and catch them off guard. I realized that since Kurama was weakened that they'd go after him first like the little cowards they were. I glanced back to see Kuwabara still slinging around his sword so I had just enough time to deal with the creatures.

"Move aside you little pests," I growled stepping up on them.

"You fell right into the trap!" one of them squeaked at me. Instantly I felt one grab my right arm and another one grab my left. Soon after two attached themselves to my legs and one leapt on my back. The one that talked stood in front of me and said, "Give me your blood!"

"How about not!" I answered throwing the one on my right hand forward into it as it lunged at me. I caught it right in front of me but it disappeared and jumped on my back. I felt it try to bite my shoulder and I turned my head to glare at it and growl like I always do when I'm mad, "Burn!"

To my surprise it burst into flames right there on my shoulder. I yelped out in surprise as the rest of them likewise burst into flames as well. The entire hall around me was filled with flames but what really surprised me was that they didn't hurt me. They just danced around me and licked my skin like nothing was wrong. It was like they were trying to get me to play.

"YEOW!" I heard Kuwabara exclaim from behind me. I spun around and just beyond the blaze I saw the rest of the group standing there with stunned expressions. I could tell that only Hiei and Kurama could see me standing in the midst of the blaze by the stunned expressions that were plastered on each of their faces. I instantly felt my stomach flip. This wasn't going to be easy to explain.

"Rin! Are you in there?!" Yusuke shouted at me causing me to flinch.

"Would you quit yelling Urameshi? You're going to cause me to go deaf," I sighed instantly smothering my temper and rebottling it like I always do. The flames instantly died down and I found myself facing the guys. I dusted some of the ashes left on me and said, "I was a little annoyed. Sorry about that."

Silence.

I looked up and saw Yusuke and Kuwabara staring at me in disbelief. I turned to see that Kurama and Hiei had thoughtful looks on their faces as they stared at me as well. Maybe showing them that power wasn't the smartest thing but……aw man. Damn my short temper and my lack of control over it! I didn't even have the slightest control over the small amount of powers I had……damn I really was becoming a liability to them.

Hiei opened his mouth to say something but suddenly Byakko's loud roared erupted through the hall causing my head to pound. THAT WAS FREAKING LOUD! Earsplitting was the only word I could think of to describe the sound. I couldn't even imagine what it would be like when we were close to him and he was roaring at us in anger. The wish to avoid instantly came into my feelings but that was out of the question and I knew it. Dang. How do I get myself into these situations?

"Byakko. That's his roar. Sounds like he's in a pretty foul mood," Kurama stated with a little concern entering his voice.

"Let's go," I said looking down towards the doorway where I knew Byakko would be. The others nodded and we quickly made our way to the entrance. Kuwabara and Yusuke gasped in amazement when we stepped out onto Byakko's walkway and I whistled. The stone bridge between the two parts of the castle was cool looking despite its morbid touch and the storm above us greatly affected the scene. Even though the wind was howling and lightning was streaking across the sky above us I was completely locked in amazement……I wouldn't be surprised if I died in this world because I was stunned by something that could never happen back home……great, I just freaked myself out. I have got to stop doing that dang it!

"I can't believe I had to get off my butt to deal with pesky little fleas like you. You defeated Genbu, but don't let that go to your heads. He was only an underling!" Byakko roared at us from his perch. I looked up and nearly lost it upon seeing the monstrous beast before me. There was NO freaking way that, that……THING could be real!

He had to be taller than ten feet tall and his claws and fangs seemed a hell of a lot sharper than could ever be possible! His fur was a stunning white with black as pitch stripes and this tiger looked a lot more unfriendly than any beast I saw back home. Meeting an adult Bengal Tiger at home seemed safer than fighting Byakko! His beady black eyes were glaring at us and there was this smell that hit me in the face that caused me to retreat a few steps. Did every demon here smell like rancid something or other?!

"Holed up here in this depressing castle, no succulent human flesh upon which to sup…it makes one quite irritable. And now the Underworld sends two puny humans and a pair of traitors to fight us. Not to mention the worthless female. What an insult!" Byakko growled viciously glaring at all of us. It may have been my imagination but Byakko's glare seemed to intensify at the thought of a female opposing him. I balled my fists and bit down on my tongue to keep it in check. If he decided to crack any female comments I was going to break the time line and kick his face into the dirt myself. I can't stand people with problems against women. Byakko glared at us as a group and roared, "Listen, worms! I gulp humans down by the six-pack! Hiei! Kurama! I'll shred you and feed you to the rotten scamps. As for the female-"

"Oh hush now kitty. No one wants to listen to your annoying meowing so go hiss at someone else! We're not interested in what you have to say!" I shouted finally not being able to stand his voice any longer. Not only was it as grating as Genbu's but it was loud enough to make my ears ring every time he spoke. I never thought I'd say this but I was ready for everything just to be silent for a while. Although if I was sent out to fight him……I might not get out of it without any broken bones or deep cuts.

"I agree. I've had enough of his bull!" Kuwabara growled cracking his knuckles. You go on ahead Kuwabara. Take him down and almost die yourself. I'm staying back because I KNOW there's no way in oblivion I could take him on.

"You're going to take him alone? I thought that was all talk," Hiei said in calm monotone. He was careful to make his tone sound disinterested but I swore for just a second that I saw a foreign emotion pass through his eyes……was it……concern for a comrade? No……it couldn't have been……that's not Hiei's style……is it?

"Duh! One-on-one! That's street fightin' pal!" Kuwabara said taking a fighting pose.

"This isn't a street brawl you dummy. Pay attention to what he does and react. Have some sense if it's possible," I said looking at Kuwabara shaking my head.

"You're trembling from eagerness then?" Yusuke asked looking at Kuwabara's knees. I took my first true look at Kuwabara and saw that he was shaking beyond all control. I blinked in surprise. Kuwabara was really freaked out……then again I didn't really blame him. If it were me I'd probably be doing the same thing.

"What I say I'm going to do, I do!"

"You can't back out now, y'mean!" Yusuke hissed at him quietly.

"Nuts to you, Urameshi! Just watch!" Kuwabara growled making his way towards Byakko. I couldn't help but notice that the trembling increased as he made his way down the walkway so I gave a random shout of encouragement and he nodded in acknowledgement. It didn't do much for him but he managed to stop shaking as much as he was before. Wanting to get a good view of what was going to happen I walked up to the side and threw my legs over the side. I plopped down on the side and found that I had a good seat to watch every thing that would happen. I tightened my grip on the edge and took a breath. I was going to see Kuwabara get the heck beat out of him……why was that more appealing when you were seeing it in the book or on the TV. Actually sitting there and knowing what was going to happen……it didn't have the same feeling.

"And the beating begins," I couldn't help but mutter as Byakko called four of his hairs to life. The hairs fell around Kuwabara and turned into the ugly beasts that Byakko used for his dirty work. Kuwabara became paler than usual as he looked at the ugly beasts and I sensed Yusuke's heart quicken. I couldn't help but feel adrenaline race through my veins and my own heart quickened in my chest. Watching Kuwabara prepare for the fight was much more interesting than watching it……maybe it was because even though he irritated me as a character I knew he could really be hurt here……and I didn't exactly want to watch that.

"My doppelganger beasts! They'll slowly tear you to pieces! Even after death, you'll regret your foolish attempt to confront me!" Byakko roared as he sent his beasts to attack Kuwabara. Even though the guy was tough for a human, I sat watching from my spot and could easily see that Kuwabara wasn't near quick enough to dodge those sharp claws. The scent of his blood drifted through the air and I wrinkled my nose. My blood I could deal with but someone else's……that was an entirely different matter.

Yusuke let out a strained shout to his friend and Kuwabara spun on his heels to run towards us. I quickly glanced back to the other three and said, "You guys might want to get close to the outer edge of the platform. Trust me on this one."

They each looked at me slightly confused but when they saw that I only had their best interests in mind, they stepped out of the way towards the outer rim. So I turned around and just managed to see Kuwabara skewer the big bad beasties……too bad for him they were still alive and trying to eat him. So being the idiot Kuwabara's known to be, he ran back towards us and circled the little pillar. He quickly came to the end of his sword and fused the ends together to make a chain. I watched carefully as he melded the ends together and saw sweat pouring down across his forehead. After locking the beasts in place he jumped back and said, "There! How's that?! Hah! Monster Beastie shish-kebabs on the hoof!"

I lost it. I barely heard Hiei commenting on Kuwabara's absurd idea because I was laughing so hard. Watching those huge beasts struggle to move and twitch was just so hilarious. I couldn't stand it. I don't know why it struck me as so funny but I got off of the edge for fear of falling over it. I thought that it was funny and stupid in the anime and manga but actually seeing happen before me only made it funny. Seeing some things in person makes you laugh at something you never would've if you'd seen it on TV. This was one of those times and I was dying.

"Well, at least someone thought it was funny," Yusuke stated looking over at me in exasperation. Apparently he didn't think it was too funny, but that may have been because Kuwabara nearly got ripped apart by those things. Lighten up, Yusuke.

"I'm sorry…I just hadn't expected it to look like that," I said putting the palm of my hand on my forehead from laughing. I looked at them and said, "I could see what Kuwabara was planning to do but I never thought it would look so ridiculous."

"Ridiculous?!" Byakko roared angrily at us. I stopped laughing as I sensed his rage sky rocket and he continued in an angry growl, "Heh…you should've let the beasts kill you human."

"Cocky bastard," I hissed to myself between my teeth. I glared at him with a smug smile as I quietly continued so not even Kurama could hear me, "We'll see who's so cocky when they're covered in ash."

"_Ash?"_ Hiei questioned telepathically. Crap.

"_Um……how'd you hear that?"_ I asked nervously. He couldn't have heard me and I thought I had strong barriers around my mind damn it! That means he shouldn't be able to catch the small things like that! Hiei couldn't read my mind before!

"_The barrier around your mind has been weakening as we've been walking in this castle. It wasn't until after Kurama's fight with Genbu did I start catching bits if your thoughts,"_ Hiei answered in a smug tone. Curse you, Morte! Hiei can read my mind now because of you, you wench! All because you want me to kill Yusuke and I refused. Damn it all!

"_Never mind. It's not important,"_ I said biting down hard on my lip. I had to watch myself now. I could already feel a nervous sweat-drop form on my forehead. It wasn't good that I was losing those protective barriers. They're what kept Kurama and Hiei both out of my mind……if I lost those……I didn't want to even think about it.

I was suddenly jostled from my thoughts as Byakko finally jumped down from his perch and shook the entire ground we stood on. I looked up in annoyance and felt myself freeze at seeing the comparison between Kuwabara and Byakko. Kuwabara was an insect compared to that beast! How the heck was he supposed to fight that…that…thing?!

"I'll warn you right now that your Reiki Sword is useless! If that's your only weapon of real power, you don't stand a one-in-one hundred chance against me!" Byakko growled mocking Kuwabara's sword. Kuwabara dismissed the warning and began lashing out against Byakko in an attempt to take him down. Kuwabara was fighting like crazy and was swinging his sword everyway possible to inflict damage on Byakko who was taking all the hits with a slight smile on his face. The tiger demon threw in a halfhearted attack here and there but ultimately he took all of Kuwabara's hits without even trying to block them. With each hit that made contact with Byakko's fur, I saw Kuwabara's sword spark and then shrink in size. Before long Byakko was a little on the fat side and Kuwabara was so exhausted that he looked ready to double over at any given moment.

I let a very low growl hiss escape through my teeth as Kurama said, "Something's wrong."

"Yeah. Look at them-their faces. Kuwabara may be scoring the hits but he's the one wearing out," Hiei said in flat monotone as Yusuke tensed beside me.

"Byakko gave the baka fair warning. It's his fault for not listening. That sword has a different effect on Byakko," I said tightly crossing my arms over my chest. I looked closely at Byakko's body to see that he truly hadn't gotten any bigger at all. He just got a hell of a lot fatter. How much longer was it going to take Kuwabara to see it? Especially since he was standing right next to him.

"I get it now!" Kurama exclaimed in sudden realization. I jumped at his outburst but he continued without looking at the three of us who stood at his sides, "Take a look at the sword!"

Everyone turned their attention to the sword and saw that it had shrunk to the size of a dagger. I looked at the other three and said, "Byakko completely sucked Kuwabara dry of his energy. He's a bit of a glutton isn't he? Too bad Kuwabara's an all-you-can-eat buffet to him."

"So you can be cold hearted and detached after all," Hiei took note as he looked at me out of the corner of his eyes.

"Cold hearted and detached or not, it's the straight truth," I answered as Byakko slugged Kuwabara across the area and into the wall.

"His aura's gone! He can't fight!" Yusuke shouted in exasperation. I looked at him from the corner of my eyes and saw that he was ready to jump in. I couldn't help but smile. Yusuke and I were a lot alike. We both had short tempers, were hotheaded, and defended our friends like there was no tomorrow. Yeah……we were going to get along just fine……well after I learn to get them all on my side at least.

"No! He has an option! Byakko hasn't grown at all. If Kuwabara's noticed this, well…it might amount to suicide but it's his last resort! If he doesn't pull this off he's doomed!" Kurama quickly explained to us.

"Sink or swim," I whispered quietly doubting if any of them heard me. I watched intently as Kuwabara ran forward and rammed his sword straight through Byakko's stomach. I flinched as he hit the ground due to energy loss and lied there not getting up. Byakko began making his way towards Kuwabara but even though his footsteps shook the ground, Kuwabara wouldn't move. Yusuke attempted to move forward to help his friend but Kurama stopped him telling him to wait. I, on the other hand, inched forward. Kuwabara didn't look like he was getting up and I was going to jump in if he didn't. I would NOT watch someone die right in front of me if I could help them. My conscience was already heavy enough for me. I didn't need anymore.

A strange noise suddenly broke across the area and caused me to stop. I looked at Byakko in surprise as I realized it was Kuwabara's plan finally acting up. Kuwabara jumped up and began mocking the demon as his stomach turned against the energy he had been given by Kuwabara. The tiger demon suddenly shot into the air like a bullet from a gun and I stood there completely struck dumb. Yusuke was laughing his head off as he shouted, "Ha ha ha! Worst case of gas I've ever seen! What a moron!"

"That was……moronic indeed," Hiei said blinking.

"Oh jeeze," I said putting the tip of my forehead into my hand. That made no freaking sense to me. Why the heck did the creator of Yu-Yu Hakusho give him gas?! That was……I can't even say anything about this. MOVING ON NOW!

I turned my attention away from the guys to where Byakko landed and watched him move the rubble away from him. He stood up and glared over at us growling, "I'll admit I'm impressed. Your tactics were effective. To show my respect, I'll lead you to my chamber…To the room from HELL!"

With that Byakko turned his back to us and began making his own way through the opposite entrance of the area. We followed at a respective distance and Hiei asked curiously, "Did I hear that overgrown fleabag right? The room from hell?"

"If I didn't know better, Hiei, I'd say you were a bit excited to see what it looks like," I said as we ran through the corridor. I looked over my shoulder and saw him glaring at my back. I turned around with a smile. It was beginning to be a game to see how I could tick Hiei off……just as long as I didn't push him too far.

"Whatever it is, it's this way!" Yusuke shouted as we came up towards the new platform. I could already feel the heat coming at us and when we burst into the room I could already feel a steady sweat bead at my forehead. Oh joy. Heat. I hate heat.

I had to admit though; as much as I hated the place I was stunned. The lava beneath us bubbled dangerously and the stone pillars that rose from its depths looked as if they could both stay up and crumble at the slightest touch. How those things were holding up Byakko and his weight was beyond me but I wondered exactly how sturdy those things were. I found myself standing at the edge looking at the pillars, barely resisting the urge to jump down and see for myself. As much as I wanted to know I didn't think that would be too smart and I could……I'd rather not think of those consequences. Darn curiosity and its killing tendencies.

"Heh heh…this is my special gaming room. Quite a sight isn't it? My favorite touch is the acid bath below! It'll eat you down to your bones! Anyone got the nerve to come down and fight me now?!" Byakko shouted from the middle of the room. I sweat-dropped and made a snort that caused the guys to look at me like I was stupid.

"Oh come on. Do none of you notice the bandage shaped like an 'x' on his stomach," I said slapping my forehead. The guys finally looked down at Byakko and remained silent upon seeing the bandage……some things are better left unsaid.

So Yusuke offered to finish up the fight but being the proud idiot Kuwabara was he told us that he was going to finish it. Even though Hiei told him-with genuine thought for his well being-that he should take a rest, Kuwabara went into the fight headfirst. I sighed at his pigheadedness as Hiei glared at him and growled, "Hmph…Irrational creatures…!"

Byakko finally goaded Kuwabara into jumping down and when he did the stone crumbled beneath his feet. The frizzy haired baka began scrambling like a rodent up the rubble and clung to the rock for dear life. I sighed and watched as Kuwabara stood up and called it 'dramatic flourish'. My foot! You barely stopped yourself from becoming well done in those fiery pits! Gr……annoyances.

"Man it's hot in here," Kuwabara said grabbing the side of his coat and throwing it to the side drying to be cool. I merely shook my head.

"It doesn't have the same effect that's there for Hiei when he does it," I whispered with a snicker. I continued snickering softly until I heard a quiet noise behind me. I looked over my shoulder curiously to find Kurama stifling a fit of chuckling. Hiei was looking at him curiously and I realized Kurama managed to hear me and my fangirl-ish comment. Damn that godforsaken fox!

"_You repeat that and I'll 'accidentally' trash all access you have to plants," _I hissed angrily at him as I felt a furious blush come to my face. Kurama looked ready to respond until Byakko started making these gross rasping sounds. I twitched. Normally things like that didn't get to me but……that was just flat out sick and wrong. Very sick and wrong! (A/N: Barely resisted urge to say wrongsick from Kim Possible. Sigh. That's what you call pathetic right there.)

"Yes, I am a cat. Would you like to see my version of a hairball?" Byakko laughed as he snorted back loudly again.

"F no," I said loudly as he shot an attack Kuwabara. Kuwabara placed himself ready to swing at it like baseball but Kurama yelled at him to get out of the way. Though Kuwabara was confused, he turned on his heel and jumped off the platform. Just as he landed on the other platform the attack slammed into the rock and disintegrated the stone as if it was nothing. I gaped at the pillar as it crumbled into the lava below.

"See that! My Tiger Shatter Scream!! It reduces anything it hits to dust!!" Byakko laughed as all of us stood in awe.

"I'd heard if a demon who could produce sonic blasts that shatter molecular bonding! It's Byakko? The only defense is to avoid getting hit!" Hiei said sounding slightly surprised and I swore there was a hint of worry there. I was stunned that a creature could manage to make those sounds from within their own throat without harming themselves. Although……that's probably why Byakko's voice was so earsplitting in the first place.

Kuwabara began jumping from platform to platform as Byakko began launching unmerciful attacks at his opponent to catch him in a trap. I bit down hard on my lip as Kuwabara began getting slower and slower and the attacks kept getting closer and closer to him. Finally Kuwabara landed on the last platform and realized he was going to have to take one hell of a gamble. Everyone began talking down about it, saying he wouldn't make it but I shouted, "Show him what a human can do you frizzy haired baka! Beat him to a pulp!"

Slightly encouraged by my shout, Kuwabara took the leap without another word and was sent out towards the pillar. Instantly he began slowing in the air and I saw his body get closer to the lava. I barely kept myself from closing my eyes when Kuwabara threw his Reiki Sword into the lava and threw himself into Byakko's body shouting, "Like it or not, fuzz butt……hell's waiting for the both of us! DIE!"

Kuwabara slugged Byakko in the jaw and they were both sent flying over the edge. I watched completely stunned as Byakko plunged into the lava below. I didn't even see if Kuwabara was with him or not. I leaned forward trying to scan the pillar from where they fell but didn't immediately see. Yusuke couldn't see either and leaned forward shouting as loud as he could, "KUWABARA!"

Suddenly I caught sight of him. The scrap of cloth that he was caught by was ripping and he wasn't going to manage to stay there long. He was banged up and if that cloth ripped he was as good as dead. Hiei caught sight of him too and said, "Look over there! See?"

Kuwabara sank another few inches as the cloth ripped and he shouted, "This ain't good!"

I didn't even realize what I was doing until I felt my feet meet the pillars and then moments later I was soaring over the lava to get to him. I skid to a stop on the pillar and dropped down trying to grab his hand. The cloth ripped and Kuwabara reached up to grab onto my arm. I let out a yelp as I slid down across the stone but I suddenly felt someone else grab the back of my shirt. I made sure my grip was tight on Kuwabara before looking up and seeing Hiei holding onto the collar of my shirt.

"Baka onna, acting on reckless impulse like humans do," Hiei hissed at me in annoyance.

"Oh shut up and help me get him up," I growled in reply as I felt my arms pop at being pulled down by Kuwabara. That baka was heavy. With Hiei's help we finally got him up on the pillar and Yusuke began shouting at him angrily. I stood up and moved away from the guys to watch them calm down and see that we were halfway done.

"You have the most remarkable luck. Care to go against another demon?" Hiei asked looking at Kuwabara curiously to see his reaction.

"NO! That's it for me! I'm DONE!" Kuwabara replied nearly wetting himself.

"That's alright Kuwabara. You earned your rest," I said laughing at him. I turned towards the exit and continued, "How about I scout ahead a bit. If I see any enemies I'll try and get rid of them for you guys."

Kurama looked uneasy about it but despite that he nodded and said, "Go ahead with Hiei and see what there is."

"Hn, how did I get pulled into this?" Hiei asked in monotone as he started making for the exit. Not knowing exactly how to react to the situation, I merely nodded and turned on my heel to follow him. We made it to the other side of the room and made our way up the stairs. I lagged a bit behind Hiei as we went up the stairs and finally had to stop putting my hands on my knees. How could he be so fast and go up these stairs without even changing his breathing?

"That……isn't fair," I gasped quietly to myself.

"I thought you said you weren't going to be a burden," Hiei mocked from higher up. I looked up to see that he had that same smug smirk that always got my goat.

"Man……I hate it when I bite off more than I can chew," I whined straightening up. Even though my legs felt like jelly, I ran back up to him and we continued on our way up. We moved without stopping until we finally came to the end of the staircase. I was completely out of breath and ready to topple over but Hiei merely walked out glancing around the hall before him.

"Are you honestly that tired after that short run?" Hiei asked condescendingly as he looked back at me.

"……" I glared down at the ground before me wishing he would just shut up and leave me alone. After a moment I looked up at him and said, "I know you don't think much of me but could you please stop talking down to me so much?! I'm not used to this and you're not helping matters. Cut me some slack!"

"Do you honestly expect your enemies to cut you slack in battle?" Hiei asked me in a flat tone. I froze.

"Uh……" I stared at him in surprise. He was right. No enemy would sit back and let me catch my breath. Most likely they would take that time and beat me to pulp…in his own way……I think Hiei was trying to make me stronger……I think he was trying to _help_ me out. After realizing that I saw that, asking for some slack was stupid and it would ultimately make me weaker than I already was. I bit down on my lip and forced myself to breathe normally. I walked up to Hiei and said, "You're right."

"Hn," Hiei answered turning away from me. I turned to the hallway and tried to listen for any strange sounds. I was instantly rewarded by the sound of chiseling. What in the world could that be? Hiei heard it too and we both ran forward looking for what made the sound. As we went down the hall we suddenly came upon a group of some odd looking demons. They were hunched over at the edges of the hall and were……for lack of a better word, attacking the edges of the walls. They were very small with sharp claws and teeth. I could've picked one of them up and held it easily with two hands. They looked like a mixture of dogs and rats. One thing was for sure. They were ugly!

"_What are they doing?"_ I wondered looking to Hiei for answers.

"_It looks like……they're trying to tunnel through the point of where the floor and the wall meet,"_ Hiei answered sounding slightly confused.

"_Wait a minute,"_ I said walking over to one of the demons who was sitting at my left. I leaned over to see that it was nearly done with destroying the place it was working one but instead of just destroying the wall……it was taking the whole floor area with it. I swore and looked back to Hiei saying, "They're trying to destroy the hallway!"

"What?" Hiei asked looking at the creatures angrily.

"They're not _trying _to do anything, Rin. They already have destroyed the floor!" Morte's silk like voice echoed around us causing my heart to race. She planned this…How could she plan all this in such a short time?! Damn that wench! Now I'm going to have to help the guys find another way around this spot since it is my fault Morte's destroying. Dang it, dang it, dang it, DANG IT! Why can't anything be easy?!

I spun on my heel and looked to Hiei saying, "We've got to get back! NOW!"

Hiei didn't need telling twice and we began running back as fast as we possibly could to the stairs before the demons decided to make the ground fall. We didn't get too far before my normal klutzy nature took affect and I tripped over what I thought was my own to feet. I crashed onto the ground loudly and Hiei stopped to look back and see what happened. My entire body was screaming in protest against the pain and I felt the cut on my forehead begin bleeding once again. I growled and looked back to see that two of the demons and jumped up from their posts and were wrapped around my feet. I sat up and instantly tried hitting them away saying, "What the heck?! Get OFF!"

"We're not here to play with the minor demons! Hurry up!" Hiei snapped angrily from where he stood.

"Oh, you think I like the fact that they're keeping me from walking?!" I snapped as I managed to grab on of them and slam it against the nearby wall. I reached out for the other one but the ground suddenly started shaking beneath me. The other demon leapt off of my ankle and ran down the hall to leave me and Hiei standing there in confusion. That is……until the ground beneath me became very unstable and I felt myself sink and inch or two into the ground. Realization instantly hit me and I shouted, "Son of a-"

I dropped my rant of profanity as I forced myself to my feet but just as I did the entire hallway floor gave way underneath my feet. I looked up to Hiei in surprise and saw that he was standing on a spot of the floor that wouldn't fall with the rest of the hallway. I took some comfort in that and tried to convince him to go back to the others.

"Get going already! Give the others the heads up!" I shouted at him as the ground completely fell beneath me. I yelped out as I fell and I felt my back crash against a large piece of rubble. Even though I didn't think anyone would be there to help I threw my hand up trying to catch hold of anything that would keep me from falling……and caught someone's hand. I looked up in surprise to see Hiei holding the edge he was standing on with one hand and his other hand was tightly wrapped around my own wrist. I blinked at him in surprise and whispered, "What……"

"Just shut up and don't move," Hiei hissed as he reached down his other arm and grabbed my other arm. We slid down a bit and I closed my eyes as I imagined plummeting to my own death. It wasn't a good though and I felt my heart beat against my ribcage as we slid down another inch and a half. Yet, before anything else happened I felt myself get pulled upwards and then get thrown onto the ground as if I were nothing. I opened my eyes in surprise and saw Hiei sitting there beside me looking at the hallway that just fell into the dark abyss below.

"T-Thanks Hiei," I stuttered quietly as I sat up. I crawled over to the edge and looked down just in time to catch sight of the last bit of rubble falling into darkness. I swallowed hard and thought about how that could've been me had Hiei decided to watch me get my own self out of that situation. I looked at him gratefully and said, "You saved my skin yet again."

"Hn……" Hiei was still staring at the hall. I could tell that he was wracking his brain to figure out a way to continued down that hall. It may have been destroyed but it was after all our only way through the place. Honestly……I don't think he really gave a damn that he saved my life.

"Rin! Hiei! Are you up here?!" I heard a shout ring out from behind us. Both Hiei and I glanced back to see Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara walking up. Upon seeing the hall behind us they stopped and Yusuke pointed at the hall saying, "Wh……what the hell happened here?"

"A little interference. We're going to have to think of another way down this hall," I said standing up and looking back down the hall. I froze when I realized that I could still see the end of the hall where the demons hadn't brought down the floor. I smirked and began mentally judging the distance as a plan began to form in my mind.

"So how exactly are we supposed to get across now?" Kuwabara asked looking at the huge gaping hole we'd have to cross, "There is no way in heck Urameshi and I can jump that."

"Hm…maybe not but……how good is your balance?" I smiled as I looked back at them with my plan in mind. They each gave me a curious look but it didn't faze me one bit. I had an idea but I was going to need their help in order for it to work.

"What are you plotting over there?" Hiei asked looking at me suspiciously.

"Nothing too big……Kurama how long can your Rose Whip extend?" I asked as my smile grew a little bit larger. Instantly realization broke across their faces and they weren't afraid to show their distaste for the plan I had thought up.

"No way in hell. I am not walking across Kurama's Rose Whip to get over there! You can forget it!" Yusuke shouted at me angrily.

"So you have any better ideas?" I asked looking at him curiously. Silence. "That's what I thought. So does anyone else have any objections and if you do what's your plan to get across this freaking hole?"

None of them opened their mouths to that one. So I looked at Kurama and gestured for him to either answer my question or ask a question of his own. The red head heaved a sigh and looked at me saying, "So what is it you exactly want me to do?"

"All you have to do is run your Rose Whip from this edge to that edge and make sure it's sturdy enough to hold us while we walk across it. Shouldn't be too hard for you, should it?" I looked at him with a smile.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" Kuwabara asked looking at me curiously.

"Very much so," I smirked as Kurama brought out his Rose Whip. I stepped aside and watch him connect the whip to the edge and extend it out to the other side. After he did so the red head straightened up and kicked his foot on the whip to make sure it stayed in place. It didn't move. With his job finished Kurama stepped back and looked at me to continue. I turned around and said, "Alright so who wants to be the first one to try it out?"

None of the guys even moved. They stared at me with emotionless eyes and each had a look on their face that said 'hell no'. I sighed and said, "Yeah I thought it was going to be like that so……I nominate Yusuke. Go on and try it."

Yusuke stared at me like I was crazy and then hissed, "I hate you."

With that said the Spirit Detective moved towards the Rose Whip and tested it with his own foot. He took a deep breath and then stepped out onto the Rose Whip. After a moment he realized it wouldn't collapse under him and he began walking across the gap. I leaned forward as he got near the middle but Yusuke seemed to be a natural at balancing himself. Of course his training with Genkai probably had a lot to do with that. It wasn't long until he reached the other side and turned around saying, "Come on! It's not that bad! Just don't look down!"

I sweat-dropped as Kuwabara put himself next and began making his way across next. Kuwabara wasn't nearly as steady as Yusuke and I found myself looking away frequently because I thought he was going to fall. He finally got across and Kurama stepped up to go next. He was by far the most graceful of the guys and managed to get across without the slightest problem. Not once did his foot slip and it seemed like he was walking like he normally would on a wide surface. I whistled and said, "Man there is no way in heck I could be that graceful. Nice job Kurama."

He nodded to me and stepped to the side near Kuwabara and Yusuke. I looked over to Hiei and saw him looking at me seriously. I swallowed and opened my mouth but he quickly cut me off saying, "I'll go after you so we can be sure you'll go across."

"That isn't necessary. It'll take me longer to get across than anyone else so why don't you just go on ahead of me," I said trying to smile reassuringly. It didn't have the effect I wanted it to but that didn't surprise me. I was too damn proud to admit it but I was afraid of crossing the Rose Whip. Yeah sure, it's ok when other people are doing it but when it comes to me………not so much.

"You can either cross the whip on your own two feet now or I will make you cross it," Hiei answered taking a step towards me.

"Oh come on!" I squeaked stepping back away from him. I felt my heart quicken and pound against my ribcage in fear. The glint in Hiei's eyes was freaking me out and the way he was smiling was NOT cool! I tried to jump back away from him but he was suddenly right in front of me and then we were above the Rose Whip looking down. I instantly felt my blood freeze in my veins and my voice stopped dead in my throat. We bounced dangerously close to falling off the whip and it felt like he loosened his hold on my body. Then……we suddenly stopped on stable ground. Hiei's arm released me and I fell onto the ground face first.

"Hiei, that was unnecessary," Kurama said in an exasperated tone.

"Hn," Hiei answered looking off towards the ceiling. I sat up slowly trying to calm my heart and thaw the rivers of ice in my body but I couldn't. I finally calmed down enough to speak and I turned to Hiei ready to tear his head off.

"You son of a-" I suddenly stopped myself as I stared at the side of his face. When he noticed that I wasn't continuing my rant he looked at me expectantly. I calmed down and muttered, "Never mind. It doesn't matter. We're here and we might as well get going to the third beast."

With that said I looked away from the guys and started making my way down the hall. I stopped a little ways away from them and realized that I was acting a bit like a spoiled child. I bit down on my lip and looked up at the ceiling. I was running away from my anger like always……never facing it head on like I should. What does getting mad do anymore? Absolutely nothing.

"Damn it," I whispered turning back to the guys. Kurama had pulled back his Rose Whip and they were slowly making their way up to me. I stepped aside to let them get in front of me and then fell into step right behind them. I was going to have to learn to control my temper and if I couldn't do that then……Morte had every right to strike me down. So I bit back my pride and looked over at Hiei and said, "Um……sorry about being so……short earlier."

As soon as I said it, I realized the pun I had just made and instantly regretted it. Yusuke and Kuwabara caught it as well and went into a fit of snickering while I looked at Hiei just waiting for him to decide to slit my throat then and there. Hiei was glaring at me from the corners of his eyes but instead of saying something along the lines of killing me he spoke with a calm that was strained, "Like you said. It doesn't matter. We're here to fight our enemies and as long as we get there nothing else is worth being concerned over."

Hiei and the rest of the guys walked a little ahead of me as I slowed my pace to breathe. He didn't kill me………it was a miracle. And one with a message I wasn't about to ignore. I had to learn to watch my loud mouth or it might just get me killed. Why Hiei resisted the urge was beyond me but I sure as heck wasn't going to pursue the matter. Hiei didn't kill me and that meant I still had a chance to make him tolerate me……to some small degree anyway. Maybe……just maybe if I was lucky, I could at least get them to trust me and count me as an ally……_maybe_.

So with that small hope in mind I quickened my pace and fell into step right behind them as we made our way to the Saint Beast who controlled ice……_Great_. I liked cold about as much as I liked heat. Yippee.

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_**Hiei:**_** That was an………interesting end.**

_**Kurama:**_** I wonder how many more problems we're going to face in the castle.**

_**Hiei:**_** I don't have any idea. The author is the one who creates the problems. Although……maybe I should've let her fall to her death.**

_**Kurama:**_** Why doesn't it surprise me that you would say that?**

_**ME:**_** (Interrupts Hiei's comeback with finally coming to) Ow……what the heck? Why do I feel like I got hit by a sledgehammer?**

_**Hiei and Kurama:**_** ………**

_**ME:**_** What? What's going on? WHY IS IT THE END OF THE CHAPTER?!**

_**Hiei:**_** (Whispers quietly) Just slowly step back and she won't notice us.**

_**ME:**_** Hiei its about time you learned what the Authoress Glomp is like. (Tackles him.)**

_**Kurama:**_** (Tries to escape but gets tackled by Ray from my other story.)**

_**Ria:**_** (sigh) I'm not even in this story dang it and I have to keep the peace. Well people I hope you liked that chapter and Review please! Please Review like no tomorrow!**


	8. Annoyances!

_**ME:**_** Hey people! What's new with you all?**

_**Hiei:**_** What the hell? Are you going to forget the last chapter just like that?!**

_**ME:**_** Authoress Glomp.**

_**Hiei:**_** (falls instantly silent)**

_**ME:**_** Yeah that's what I thought. Anyway I went out a little while back and bought six Yu-Yu Hakusho DVDs! I'm in freaking heaven right now! YAYZ! And a katana! SWEETNESS!**

_**Hiei:**_** I see……that's why she's hyper.**

_**ME:**_** All hyperness aside though, I'm quite proud of this beautiful little fic! So many people seem to love it! I'm in such a good mood right now that I'll even say my own disclaimer!**

_**Hiei:**_** ……you will?**

_**ME:**_** Yeah! If I owned Yu-Yu Hakusho, not only would I have a bit of extra cash lying around I'd also already have all the mangas and anime sets there are for it. Not to mention the movies too. I will very soon but I still won't own it. Just copies. (sigh) That's the only depressing thought.**

_**Hiei:**_** Do yourself and the world a favor. Get a therapist you over obsessed fangirl!**

_**ME:**_** I'd rather not. Did you even think about the word 'therapist'?**

_**Hiei:**_** I do not particularly like where this conversation is heading.**

_**ME:**_** Well, you started it so I'm finishing it. Separate the words in 'therapist'.**

_**Hiei:**_** (thinks about it for a moment) ………**

_**ME:**_** 'Therapist' is 'the rapist'. There you go. You can see why I don't want a therapist now.**

_**Hiei:**_** (ABSOLUTE SILENCE)**

_**ME:**_** Alright, alright, alright already. I'll stop tormenting your mind and start the Chapter. Let's go!**

**-------------**

_I changed my character's name. She is now going to be known as Rin Ishida. Ok just thought I would clear that up. Read and Review Please!_

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_**Chapter 8: Annoyances!**_

So with that small hope in mind I quickened my pace and fell into step right behind them as we made our way to the Saint Beast who controlled ice……_Great_. I liked cold about as much as I liked heat. Yippee.

I bit back my complaints and made myself think on the positive side. At least we were nearing the end and this next fight would go quickly because Seiryu was going to piss Hiei off. Even I know that you only do that if you have a death wish. That was the only thing that made me feel better and worse at the same time. What if I pissed Hiei off and he decided I'd be better off dead? There was no way in oblivion I could ever hold even the smallest candle to him in a fight. He'd beat me to a bloody freaking pulp and polish the floor with me. This was a fact that I knew quite well. It would only be a matter of seconds for him to beat me into the ground.

Yet, this also made me wonder why he hadn't done that. I was happy he hadn't, but it still made me wonder. Maybe he was a little more tolerant than I gave him credit for. Nonetheless, god forbid I give him any reason to forget tolerance and attack me. I just wondered how long it would take for me to see his tolerance end and have him strike out at me……it was a kind of scary thought.

I was so deep in my thoughts that I accidentally ran into Yusuke's back as we stopped at the series of doors. Yusuke gave me a slightly annoyed look and I backed off as he looked at Kuwabara saying, "Which door should we take, Kuwabara?"

"Hm…" Kuwabara looked at the doors curiously for a moment before pointing at one and saying, "Second one from the right."

Yusuke smiled smugly and walked forward saying, "Second from the right it is."

"I dunno. You sure about this?" Hiei asked glancing at the door incredulously.

"Heh! Doping out mazes and traps is my forte!" Kuwabara said pointing at himself proudly. Hiei merely shrugged at Kuwabara's reassurance and glanced back at me. I looked at him for a moment in confusion before realizing that, in his own way, Hiei was asking my opinion.

"Pft. I failed this class. I have no sense of direction whatsoever unless my life directly counts on it. So, I guess I'm counting on you here, Kuwabara. If we die, I'll kill you," I said patting him on the back. He nodded and we continued forward in a strange silence. I looked out of the corner of my eyes and saw Hiei glancing at me curiously. Determined not to lose my cool this time I slowed my pace until I was a bit behind them and Hiei followed.

"So exactly what are you good at?" Hiei asked in quiet undertone.

"I guess……I'm good a cracking riddles and making a halfway decent strategy. I can fluster an enemy using their own weaknesses and seeing hidden things but that's about it. I'm not as good at fighting as you all are though," I admitted rubbing the back of my neck slightly embarrassed. I hadn't really thought about it before but now……I realized how much weaker I actually was compared to the others. All I could do back home was make someone so flustered that they weren't able to fight me anymore. That was my only true strength.

"So basically, a burden?" Hiei asked giving me a sideways glance.

"No," I replied in monotone. I looked at him carefully before continuing, "Just because I'm not particularly good at anything doesn't mean I'm a burden. It just means that I might be a little bit below you guys in a fight. You might actually want to count on Kuwabara before you looked to me in a fight. He'll have more field experience than me with real fighting. I learned to fight in a dojo. He learned to fight on the streets."

"Hn," Hiei replied as he moved back to his normal spot. I continued walking but not without realizing something was wrong……and it was within my head.

"_Why the hell are you watching me, Morte? I'm not running away,"_ I asked when I realized who the other presence belonged to.

A silk like laugh echoed through my mind and her perfect voice purred, _"Of course you're not. I'm just seeing if you changed your mind my dear friend. You still have the time. Once you kill him you'll become my ally and those other three won't be able to harm you. I'll make sure of it."_

"_You might as well be talking to a brick wall. I don't care. So, will I finally get to see your face this time?"_ I replied in a disinterested tone.

"_Hm……it may be the last sight you'll ever see,"_ she sniffed coldly causing me to shiver. I felt her presence leave my mind and I stopped following the guys to stare at the floor. She could have it picked just right. There was a high chance that if I went against her in a real fight that……I'd end up dead as a doornail in a matter of minutes……but then what could I do? There was no way I could ever turn on the guys. Even if they didn't think of me as a friend yet……betraying them would be like betraying friends. They had been kind to me so far and even saved my life. What kind of person repays them by betraying them like that?

"Hey, Ren," Yusuke's voice suddenly brought me back to reality. I looked up slowly and saw that they doubled back and were now standing a few feet in front of me.

"Y-yeah. What is it?" I said looking at them in surprise. Uh-oh. Did they think I was loosing it? Did they think I wanted to bail out on them? Oh no, oh no, oh no……

"Do you think that demon we met outside will be in here too?" Yusuke asked looking at me curiously.

"Yeah, and what was the choice thing she was talking about? Do you two know each other?" Kuwabara poked looking at me with……was that worry?

"She'll be here alright………and she'll make one heck of a scene," I said looking at them. Then I smiled and said, "Don't worry about it though. It's between me and her. SO, you guys can go ahead and leave me behind if we get into a confrontation. What happens between me and her isn't your concern nor is it part of your job."

"That won't be possible. We're involved now and that's how it'll stay," Kurama answered in a calm tone. I looked at him in confusion. Was he saying we're comrades?

"Yeah, teamme! So don't be trying to get rid of us now," Yusuke agreed punching me lightly in the shoulder.

"You had my back against Byakko, so I'll have your back against your enemy," Kuwabara threw up a friendly fist showing me he was serious.

This was a new feeling. Only a few friends back home would've stayed on my side if they realized their lives were in danger if they sided with me and yet……here are these three sticking their necks out for me when they hardly knew me. Was it really so easy to trust here or had it always been like this and I never saw? I smiled and put my hand out palm down saying, "Thanks."

Yusuke and Kuwabara quickly piled their hands on top of mine and smiled reassuringly. Giving a slight chuckle at the human gesture, Kurama calmly put his hand on the others and looked over at Hiei. The fire demon gave a snort of contempt and turned away muttering, "Stupid over trusting humans."

"What? Come here, Hiei," Yusuke snickered following the apparition's footsteps. Kuwabara ran after his friend and they tried to annoy the living crap out of him. Their only downfall was the red haired teen that quickly intervened. I shook my head laughing and followed them. We ran up on Seiryu's chamber and looked at all the decoration of it. Huge statues of dragons stood on either side of it and the giant doors that stood over us were dark red with bronze door lining. A sudden cold front smacked into me and knocked the breath right out of me. Dang! This wasn't good!

"Phew! Pretentious décor here!" Kuwabara whistled looking around the area.

I smirked at Hiei as I saw his eyes scan over the statues with disinterest. The line from the manga rang through my mind and I gave a little chuckle. Hiei looked back at me to see me laughing at him and scowled. I stopped and turned to Kurama as he looked at the chamber saying, "This must be Seiryu's chamber. A demonic aura's leaking out, more potent than the others!"

"We don't have time to worry about it. Let's get going," I said walking forward up the stairs. Even though I was trying to calm myself down and get through this without any more episodes, I couldn't help but take a deep breath upon reaching for the door. Yusuke's hand suddenly came up next to mine and I felt determination well inside of me. Without any further hesitation we both pushed open the door and blinked as the light changed before our eyes. A wave of cold air rolled out of the room and we both shivered violently as our eyes looked to find Seiryu.

"Master Suzaku finds your petty activities highly vexing. This is as far as you go," his stance was cold and his glare even colder. I could tell that he meant to kill us all even more viciously than the others did. I cocked my head to the side to look at him and shook my head. Up close he reminded me of this guy I used to know back home. He was really tall and had this cold look on his face. I avoided ever speaking to him because his glare seemed to pierce holes through my skin and give me the shakes. Seiryu was exactly like that guy back home. With the same acid tongue too, "I'll kill you all, after I've torn you limb from limb. Heh heh heh."

"We've heard that before, skank!" Kuwabara shouted angrily at him. I shook my head and looked back at him like he was an idiot. Where in the fiery pits of oblivion did he come up with calling this guy a skank?!?! I mean……what I'm trying to say is……never mind. I'm moving on now. This giant standing in front of me was distracting me enough. I didn't need other thoughts too.

"Hmm. We have……an uninvited guest," Seiryu stated as a soft scuffling sound came to my ears. I turned towards the door and stepped off to the side. Byakko……he was……moaning in pain. As much as I hated that huge hairball……I couldn't help but turn away. The sound was so pitiful and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Suddenly the doors burst open and Byakko stumbled in barely standing on his feet at all. I gasped as I stared at the singe marks in his fur and all the wounds he sustained.

"P-please, I need some energy…I'll repay you once I'm stronger…" Byakko wheezed sounding even more and more pathetic with each passing second.

"Gawd, he's still alive?!" Kuwabara gasped beginning to freak.

"Too much, man," Yusuke sighed in annoyance.

"Fool," Seiryu's tone was colder than ice and I turned to see his glare piercing straight through Byakko. I clenched my teeth together and balled my fists. The mere though of what was going to happen made me so mad, and I struggled to keep my loud mouth shut……if it was even possible. I couldn't understand how Seiryu could be that heartless to his comrade and I sure as hell wasn't ever going to understand it for myself. Seiryu continued glaring at Byakko as he said, "You are ridiculous…and a FAILURE!"

I stood completely frozen as I watched Seiryu take a fighting stance and freeze his own ally in a coat of ice. My heart pounded angrily against my chest and I felt my nails penetrate the skin of my palms as Seiryu coldly cut Byakko down sending his head rolling right by where I was standing. I met Byakko's surprised eyes and felt my temper soar even more than it already was. Byakko was weak and yet he went and attacked him like nothing was wrong……that bastard! Byakko was staring up at me in fear and for a moment I swore I saw something else glow in his eye before fading away.

"They have no sense of camaraderie. They're driven solely by greed and hunger," Kurama stated sounded completely stunned by the fact.

"I wanted to destroy him but this is weird…wrong! He deserved better…and I swear he'll get it!" Kuwabara shouted angrily.

"Right on, Kuwabara! And I'll do the honors!" Yusuke shouted as his anger also flared up.

"Wait, Yusuke," Hiei's voice was the only one out of us that sounded emotionless and calm but, I could clearly see his third eye glaring at Seiryu in fury. Hiei was beyond pissed. There were flames dancing in his eyes and his jaw was set in anger. Nothing but pure rage radiated from his form as he said, "Save that rage for later. You'll need it against Suzaku."

"Hiei," I said in a strained voice. He looked at me from the corner of his eyes and I continued nearly biting my tongue in half, "Send him to hell the most painful way you can."

Hiei didn't answer as he teleported in front of a chuckling Seiryu and pulled of his black as pitch cloak. Without looking away from Seiryu, Hiei tossed his cloak to the side and aimed right for Byakko's head. It landed calmly over the fallen demon's head and Hiei glared angrily at Seiryu. Pure rage erupted yet again from him and this time I felt myself get knocked clean off my feet as Hiei's third eye opened wide beneath the cloth. I fell against the wall and closed my eyes. His rage was insane and being weak to the Jagan-eye made things worse for me. I could barely stand.

"A sentimental gesture? From YOU? I'd understood you to be like us-ruthless to the core," all the voices were getting jumbled in my head. I barely heard Kurama as he stated his thoughts on Hiei's new attitude. I pushed myself to stand and watched as Hiei took his fighting stance. That aura was insane! Seiryu was dead the second we walked into his chamber.

"All of you pathetic fools are the same. The only way to live in this world is to kill those weaker than you. It doesn't matter if they deserve anything. Your only priority is yourself and if that means betraying a few insects and crushing them-"

"Shut……your mouth," I hissed struggling to breath against Hiei's battle aura. Kurama looked back in concern as I struggled just to speak, but I shook him off and felt something cold well up inside me. I glared at Seiryu viciously and growled, "I'm not one who usually likes killing, but you're one hell of an exception. I hope Hiei cuts you down slowly and painfully!"

"Ha! I'll kill him and then kill all of you! DIE!" Seiryu lunged forward ready to freeze Hiei like he did Byakko, but Hiei was in front of him in an instant slicing him apart. I froze on the spot. I watched as Hiei brought his sword across Seiryu's chest, stomach, arms, neck, and face. I could see every stroke he took and how he made sure every attack went clean through his enemy. How could I watch this? How could I see every one of Hiei's strokes and how could I see his facial expressions so easily? Maybe it was because Seiryu made me just as angry as Hiei but whatever it was I counted each stroke he took and saw all sixteen strokes.

Suddenly, Hiei broke away and rushed behind him as Seiryu's entire body broke apart and a waterfall of blood poured around him as he fell. The fire apparition sheathed his blade and looked over his shoulder at the corpse saying, "May I never see your face again."

The other guys ran out to Hiei's side, but I moved over to where Byakko's head was laying on the ground. I heard Kurama ask how many strokes Hiei made and he answered in dead monotone sixteen. I wasn't sure why I did, but I bent down and lifted Hiei's cloak off of his head for a moment to see if he was still alive. Byakko's eyes were frozen open in surprise and I shivered, feeling my empathy snap awake. I shook my head in disgust at Seiryu and closed Byakko's eyes. I took my sleeve and wiped away the spit on his face before looking up to see Hiei standing over me. He extended his hand for his cloak and I gave it to him not even attempting to start a conversation. We were both angry and unsettled about the situation and we knew it. Nothing needed to be said.

"We have one demon left. Let's get going," Yusuke said turning towards the exit and cutting into a full out sprint. We all quickly followed him from behind but I my blood began to run cold. Morte……she was going to meet us before we got to Suzaku……I just knew it. Yusuke's communicator suddenly rang and the group slowed up a bit so he could answer it. Seeing a chance to meet Morte ahead of them, I sprung forward and left them in a cloud of confusion behind me. I didn't even offer them the smallest glance over my shoulder as I turned the corner and I ran up the stairs leaving them all behind me. My legs felt like flimsy rubber, but I kept pushing them forward until I suddenly broke from the castle and saw Morte standing there before me with her cloak wrapped tightly around her.

"Are you sure?" she asked me as I moved forward a bit with a tense form, "I'm stronger than you in every meaning of the word. All you have to do is annoy me to a point and you'd die just by a mere punch."

"Maybe, but there's no way I'd turn against the guys," I said stopping a few yards in front of her. My eyes narrowed and I tried to make my voice as emotionless as I could when I asked, "So, you're really going to kill me? Do I at least get to see the real you before that happens or what?"

"Always trying to act tough, huh?" Morte chuckled as she reached for the corner of her cloak. Her skin was tanned and her movements were elegant. Even though she was my enemy I could help but feel a little jealously grow inside of me because of the way she moved. She whipped of her cloak and had short dark purple hair fall around her face and her midnight blue eyes seemed to glow as she looked at me. She was taller than me and I could tell by the way that she held herself that was used to fighting people. Her form was agile and strongly built at that same time. I could tell that she was a cat demon by the way the slits in her eyes shone and the brown cat ears that stuck up from her hair, twitching. Ah hell. She's going to kick my ass.

"Who's acting?" I asked shifting to a well balanced fighting stance.

"I'm not even going to lay a finger on you. You're going to kill Yusuke Urameshi with your own two hands while I sit back and watch," Morte smirked bringing her right hand over her third eye. Before I even knew what was happening she moved her hand and my body froze upon seeing her dark third-eye staring at me. A numb sensation ran through my body for a moment before being knocked aside by the feeling of fire engulfing my body. My involuntary scream shattered the air around me and I felt myself fall to the ground unable to move on my own.

"Rin!" Yusuke's voice shouted from just inside the staircase. I gasped out as the pain intensified and I closed my eyes wishing they'd stop coming. The closer they came to me the worse the pain washing over me got. I heard them suddenly come out onto the platform and freeze as they saw me on the ground at Morte's feet. Then Yusuke shouted, "What are you doing to her?!"

"Nothing at all. You should be worrying about what she's going to do to you. Now rise, Rin," Morte's voice purred from over me. Even though I struggled with everything I had to stay down, my body rose up and I turned to face Yusuke. My right hand came up and began forming a lightning attack that would pierce straight through Yusuke's heart if he was hit. WHAT THE HELL?! I SHOULDN'T EVEN HAVE AN ATTACK LIKE THAT! DAMN YOU, MORTE! The four tensed before me and Kurama stepped in front of Yusuke. A cold malicious laughed echoed around us and Morte said, "She's the perfect little pawn. She can't fight my Evil-Eye and at this moment she's completely under my control."

"What?" Kuwabara stuttered looking at my attack in fear.

"Now, let's finish this. Kill Yusuke Urameshi now!" Morte ordered at me. The attack in my hand intensified so much that it began eating away at my arm. I could the nerves shutting down and the bones cracking in my arm. I wasn't strong enough to use this attack and she was sacrificing my arm to make me! OH HELL NO! It's ON!

"I……DON'T TAKE ORDERS FROM WENCHES!" I shouted angrily forcing my body to spin in place. I rammed my right arm into her stomach and released the huge attack that she was trying to make me use. She screamed in pain as the attack released and we were both sent flying through the air due to the force of the impact. I rolled across the ground and skid to a stop near the edge of the platform. My entire right arm screamed in pain and I looked at it to see it was a strange grey color. What the fudge was this about?!

"Rin!" Yusuke called out in a voice full of concern.

"How……could he still trust me?" I whispered in confusion as I tried to push myself up. I shook my head, clearing the strange haze that Morte had called to it and looked up to see Yusuke making his way over to me. Not wanting to give Morte the chance of possessing me again I glared at Yusuke and shouted, "Stay away from me you dumbass! I almost killed you back there!"

"Shut up!" Yusuke shouted as he came to a stop beside me. He grabbed the collar of my shirt and lifted me up saying, "You think I don't realize how dangerous this is?! I'd like to think I'm at least that smart!"

"Y…Yusuke?" I looked at him in surprise. Yusuke opened his mouth to shout at me some more, but Morte suddenly jumping into a standing position drew us all to look over at her. Morte's hand was tightly clamped over her stomach and there was a steady stream of crimson oozing out between her fingers. Her eyes were poison tipped daggers as she stared at me and she pointed her other free hand at the base of the tower where the strange creatures were coming up in swarms. The bad thing was……there were more of them now than there were in the manga or anime. That was NOT a good sign.

"You'll die by their hands then!" Morte shrieked in anger as she disappeared in a dark cloud. I looked off at the strange creatures coming up and grit my teeth.

"WHOA! What the hell are those things?!" Kuwabara shouted running over to us.

"They're creatures that won't hesitate in obeying their master's orders. They may be slow, but they'll keep coming at us until they no longer can move," I said standing with the help of Yusuke.

"We don't have time for this! I'll finish them all off with a volley of Reiki from my Gatling Gun!" Yusuke shouted pulling his hand back and preparing an attack.

"Hold on! Don't expend yourself! Lose your cool and you'll play right into Suzaku's hands!" Kurama said putting a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"But there's no other way to get through!" Yusuke shouted in anger.

I glanced over at Hiei and found that he was looking up at the window where Yusuke would soon be jumping into. A plan instantly sparked in his eyes and a slight smirk curled his mouth. He turned to me and I smiled as I gave him a nod of agreement. He turned to Yusuke and said, "Maybe there is. Look up there. See that window?"

Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama looked and immediately saw what he was referring to. Yusuke's eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he saw the window and exclaimed, "Jeeze, Hiei, we're not grasshoppers. None of us could possibly jump that high!"

"Not from here, no," Hiei said as an annoyed looked crossed over his face. Hiei then continued to tell them his plan, but I was more worried about the enemies before us that continued to grow in numbers. There was a hell of a lot more than there were supposed to be. If we used Hiei's plan, we risked injuring ourselves to get Yusuke up there. Falling in the middle of that group would be more dangerous before and it seemed to me that they were a lot more violent than I originally saw.

"Those…THINGS look a lot more dangerous than I thought," I muttered looking at the guys, "Just running into them is asking for an unnecessary beating. Let me go in first and clean out the area a bit before you run up."

"You're badly injured and we don't have time to wait!" Yusuke growled at me, but I already turned my back on them and moved into a slight crouching position. Without even listening to Yusuke's spluttering, I shot forward and tried to focus my anger on my good hand. If I could make those flames into any kind of weapon this would be a hell of a lot easier. I bit down on my lip and tried to call the flames, but all I got was a small spark. OH SCREW IT! I balled my fist and slugged the closet cultivated human I could get my hands on.

"I still have one good arm!" I growled kicking an opponent in the back and elbowing another. I wasn't sure how many enemies I would have to take out or how long I would be able to last, but I continued taking out the front row until I heard running behind me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw them running forward with their human ladder idea. I smirked at them and turned back around in time to catch an enemy's fist with my jaw. OUCH!

"Son of a bitch!" I shouted angrily as I instinctively bitch-slapped the closest enemy. This in turn started a chain reaction and knocked ten unsuspecting enemies off their feet. I stopped for a moment and blinked……did that just happen? I looked at the creatures and growled, "What the fudge?"

"Here I GO!" Yusuke shouted from above me. I looked up to see Hiei fall forward as Yusuke jumped off his back and reach for the window. I suddenly noticed that he hadn't jumped far enough and was beginning to fall short before coming within three feet of it. I felt my heart pound against my ribcage and I turned to Hiei who likewise noticed the problem. He looked at me and I saw a plan flash in his eyes.

"If you step on my head, I'll kill ya!" I shouted turning my back to him placing my weight equally on each leg. I saw a creature coming at me, but couldn't move as I heard Hiei running up behind me. I closed my eyes and growled, "Any freaking time, Hiei!"

His foot suddenly slammed down between my shoulder-blades and I barely kept myself from falling over as he unsheathed his sword. He pushed off from my back and sliced the cultivated human in half before going up to where Yusuke was beginning to fall. Hiei put his sword out horizontally in front of him and Yusuke's foot immediately landed on it. The Underworld Detective didn't hesitate as pushed himself right off of Hiei's blade and made it clean into the window. Hiei landed beside me and we looked up to see Yusuke calling, "If we get back alive, lunch is on me!"

"We'll hold you to that!" Kuwabara shouted giving him a thumbs up.

"You better come back alive, Yusuke. I don't want to go through another funeral for your sorry ass!" I laughed as Yusuke flashed me a confident grin. He disappeared into the window and I turned to Hiei saying, "Jeeze! You nearly broke my back. How can someone as small as you possibly weigh that much?"

"Apparently it wasn't enough because you're still standing," Hiei muttered as he turned his blade to an oncoming attack.

"Ouch, Hiei. I'm wounded," I said in an injured tone. He only gave a small snort as he leapt into the battle and I did the same.

Back home when I was in my Judo classes, my Sensei was the strictest sensei of the entire school and was well known for his discipline. He would force us to sit in our positions for twenty five minutes and then walk down the line with a yard stick; slapping anyone in the knees if they were out of line. Then if we did something wrong during the class he would throw us on the ground ten times in a row. If we didn't get up fast enough or fell the wrong way, he'd throw us ten more times. There were times when I thought he was a complete slave driver, but after a month with him, I had more stamina and could keep myself active for a longer period of time. I also got a lot stronger during his classes and was proud to be in a Judo class filled with only guys. I'm serious! I was the only girl in the freaking school when we were there! So, I became a lot stronger and was able to last longer in our practice battles. At the moment, I was really thanking my Sensei for pushing me to my limits. If he hadn't, I would've been struck down the second I entered the battle beside them.

I guess that was the only reason I was still standing after helping the other three take out half the army to still see more coming our way. I kicked the closest enemy down and moved to have my back to Kuwabara's. I let out a sigh and Kuwabara said, "Wow. You've got a lot of energy. No offense but I thought you would've been down by now with that bad arm."

"To your left," I said as a creature lunged at him. He gave a swift uppercut and turned to me as I continued, "My Sensei back home was a strict man. Let's just say him and Genkai have similar ways of teaching. You don't do it right the first time you keep at it until you get it or else. Honestly I think they'd be one hell of a couple."

"That's scary," Kuwabara said suddenly throwing a punch over my head. I turned around and saw that a creature had reached for my throat and Kuwabara's fist stopped him.

"Thanks," I smiled as the numbers began to dwindle down. Suddenly the smell of blood entered my nose and I glanced over at Kurama seeing his wound had reopened. I rushed forward and dove into a baseball slide knocking five cultivated humans clean off their feet. Kurama stood there in surprise as I stood up and said, "This can't go on. How long have we been fighting?"

"Well, that blast from the roof happened a while back. I can't say exactly how long, but I sense Yusuke and Suzaku are both near the end of their rope," Kurama answered holding his bleeding stomach.

"That long already?" I blinked in confusion.

"_You honestly haven't realized how long we've been fighting these pathetic servants?"_ Hiei growled as he sliced through ten of them at once.

"_I honestly thought we just started………but that means-!" _I spun on my heel and glared at the doorways where the creatures had initially came out. I gasped in horror and shouted, "Another wave!"

"WHAT?!" All three of the guys called staring at the doorways to see more coming our way.

"What are we going to do?" I whined falling to my knees amongst our fallen enemies, "None of us have much more energy to go on except for Hiei. Even he'll tire out though." Hiei shot me a glare, but nodded grudgingly in agreement.

"Wait, didn't you train with Genkai?" Kuwabara asked looking at me curiously. I looked at him and nodded. He smiled and said, "Did she teach you how to shoot out an attack like Yusuke's?"

"No. I barely have any control over my powers. Let alone try to shoot off an attack like that!" I growled in annoyance. I glared away from him and growled, "It's not like I have the discipline to do that kind of attack anyway."

"Hm……Hiei, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Kurama said looking over at the black haired apparition. They both nodded at each other and then turned their attention to me with a plan.

I swallowed, "I don't like the way you guys are looking at me……"

-------------

_A Few Moments And Futile Arguments Later_

-------------

"I hate you guys," I grumbled as I focused my good hand at the entrances of the enemies little 'homes'. Kurama had his hand on my right shoulder and Hiei had his hand on my left. Kuwabara was standing behind us and I could sense Hiei and Kurama focusing my energy into an attack that would demolish our enemies' way to us. After that it was only a matter of killing the rest of them and getting up the tower to Yusuke. Well, for me……it was a matter of moving after the attack.

"Ready?" Kurama asked slightly tightening his grip on my shoulder.

"As I'll ever be," I growled as I closed my eyes and began thinking about all the things that made me angry. The memories came slowly at first, but then they began to move faster. Every little annoyance and every harsh, untrue word that made me angry immediately flowed into me and rage danced at my fingertips. My arm instantly became hot and I could sense Kurama and Hiei pushing the flames to the tips of my hand. Soon they exploded there and flickered into a concentrated orb. Orange, yellow, and red flickered and danced before me. The seemingly tame flames jumped and licked at my hands like an energetic puppy causing me to stare at them in surprise.

"_Focus baka onna!" _Hiei snapped drawing an annoyed look from me. I gave a soft growl and then began to imagine the flames growing larger and the heat intensified. I opened my eyes and stared at the targets.

"Go ahead and tell me when you guys are ready," I said never looking away from the spot.

"Ready," Hiei said as my arm steadied instinctively.

"Aim," Kurama muttered focusing on the targets.

"Fire!" I shouted as the attack was immediately released from my finger tips. The release made my hand tremble and a numb feeling came over my arm as I stumbled back. Kuwabara stabled me as the attack slammed into the openings and completely brought them down. Many of the cultivated humans were taken down in the process and we looked to see only a few more left.

"Let's hurry," Kurama said in an urgent voice as he pulled a rose bud from his hair.

"Hn," Hiei already had his sword at ready was glancing back at me and Kuwabara. He gave a snort of contempt and said, "Why don't you two sit back and let us take care of the rest of them?"

"No way! I'm fighting!" Kuwabara shouted glaring angrily at him.

Suddenly a huge lightning bolt streaked across the sky and Kurama looked up saying, "It's gonna be a big one! And a big finish!"

"Someone will die this time," Hiei stated in cool monotone.

"Hey," I said turning away from them staring at the enemies around us, "You guys head up to the top level. Yusuke is going to need your support. I'll handle the rest here."

"Your Youki hasn't recovered and your arm…" Kurama looked at me to see me smirking.

"Go on. I have a plan," I smirked as I looked at the enemies. There were only ten or so left. I could handle them……right? Well, if not, I was going to let the guys go up anyway.

"Don't die," Kuwabara said holding his thumb up to me. I nodded and watched them run into tower.

I sighed and turned back to the enemies saying, "Time for a regular brawl. Let's go!"

I jumped forward ready to fight, but suddenly the tower exploded and I barely dodged to the side to avoid getting hit by the rubble. The avalanche of stone lasted a decent while and when I finally looked up all the enemies were completely crushed beneath them. I stared in confusion and blinked, "Well, that's one way to end a battle."

I shook my head and leaned against the base of the tower closing my eyes. I tilted my head up and listened to the wind howling around us. A slight drizzle began to fall and I smirked. The rain always made me calm and allowed me to think of things more clearly. I let the cool crystal drops splash against my face and tried to ignore the annoying pain in my arm.

"I thought humans were annoying, but female Yokai are even greater annoyances," I heard Hiei hiss in annoyance as their footsteps approached. I opened my eyes and looked to see them standing right there in front of me. Kurama was supporting the unconscious Kuwabara and Hiei was supporting the unconscious Yusuke. Why am I not surprised that Hiei would not go near touching Kuwabara? It struck me as funny and I couldn't help but smirk as I looked at him. I looked to Kurama and then to the annoyed Hiei as he continued, "If I'm forced to carry you back too, I'll finish you here and now."

"How sensitive of you. Fine. I'll get up," I said pushing myself away from the tower. I stood myself up and looked at them saying, "So, do we have to walk all the way to the entrance or……"

"Koenma was generous enough to give us a small orb that would get us back to his office. I suppose from there, they'll take care of Yusuke and Kuwabara. Hiei and I will have to stay until our 'community service' is taken into account and you……" Kurama's voice trailed as he looked at me thoughtfully.

"Will have to go through one hell of an interrogation," I finished for him, "Sneaky Underworld Prince. He had it planned all along. If I somehow got here with you guys I'd have to go back with you. Damn he's clever."

I had to admit. Koenma had one heck of a spider web and I walked right into it. I shook my head at my stupidity and looked at Kurama waiting for him to say something. Instead I found both of them looking at me curiously. Kurama looked at me and said, "You mean to say that……"

"They haven't caught me yet? Exactly……Well, that's what the situation used to be. As it stands now, I'm going to meet them first hand and you're going to be witnesses to how they react. Record it for me, k?" I smirked as Kurama began shaking his head. I noticed his face was a bit pale and I walked over to him taking a good amount of Kuwabara's weight, "Your wounds haven't fully healed yet either."

"It doesn't matter. We'll be arriving at Koenma's shortly," Kurama said as he pulled an orb out of his pocket. He threw it at the ground and a swirling vortex appeared in front of. I stepped into the portal along with Hiei and Kurama and we suddenly appeared in one of the rooms of the Spirit World. I gave an involuntary shiver and looked to see Koenma himself striding into the room with his ogre in tow.

"I see the mission……" Koenma trailed off as his eyes met mine. We stood there in a tense silence staring at each other. The audience moved slightly away and I felt Kurama take Kuwabara off to the sidelines. I never looked away from Koenma and patiently waited for him to say something. It soon was clear that he wouldn't speak so I cocked my head to the side and let my annoying nature take over.

"So you finally have the demon you've wanted to arrest in the same room with you and all you can do is stand there like a dimwit. I'm not particularly impressed with the Underworld's Prince," I said with a cocky smirk. Then I remembered what shape Yusuke and Kuwabara were in and instantly turned serious, "Although, that doesn't matter at the moment. Getting them healed on the other hand is. You don't have to worry. I'm not going to try to run from here. So heal them and then you can worry about me."

Koenma looked at me and said, "You're a lot more sensible than I gave you credit for."

"Just shut up and do your job," I muttered walking over to the wall and leaning against it with my left hand hooked into my belt loop. I watched in silence as they fussed over Yusuke and Kuwabara and stayed silent even as they made Kurama tend to his own wounds. My hand unconsciously rubbed my right arm and pain shot through it like a fire. I let out a low hiss and slid down the wall clutching my arm to my stomach.

"Rin?" Kurama asked in concern. I heard him move and instantly felt his hand rest on my shoulder. I bit down on my lip and looked at him reluctantly. His eyes flashed upon seeing my face and without looking away said, "Koenma, she needs that arm looked at and soon. Who knows how bad it will get as time wears on."

"I see your point. We'll heal her and have our chat at the same time. Ogre get a medic in here!"

-------------

_A Day Later_

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"Huh……it was nice of Koenma to give me this little apartment."

After answering a few initial questions Koenma finally permitted the healer to do his job and fix up my arm. That healing hurt like hell. I was barely able to stay conscious! After I recovered from their torture…I mean help, I answered more annoying questions that made me want to beat the hell out of everyone. Damn interrogations! I hate them so freaking much. Koenma's lucky that I didn't snap at him.

Eventually it was made clear that I wasn't a threat and somehow became an Underworld Detective. Oh joy. Time to go risk my life for people I don't even know. They gave me a paid for apartment and even gave me a monthly allowance that didn't include food. I was happy as heck for that one! First thing I went out to do was get some jeans and shirts before dropping by the nearest music store to pick up and Ipod. I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT MY MUSIC! Talk about messed up priorities. Soon after adding a few touches to my new 'home' I sat down and had a bit to eat. Botan must've picked out the food in the cabinets and refrigerator because everything seemed to be made for a sweet tooth. YAY! Botan has great tastes when it comes to that!

I immediately checked the freezer and saw ice-cream. SCORE! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

So…uh…moving onto the next day.

I was up earlier than usual and that was strange for me. I usually loved to sleep in on days like this, but something kept nagging at the back of my mind. Deciding against ignoring it, I pulled myself out of bed and made myself presentable for outsiders to see. I remembered that I would have to keep my arm wrapped for a few days and quickly rewrapped it without complaining. I guess I was just happy that they healed me and allowed me to walk around on my own. I grabbed the cell phone Botan gave me and walked outside into the shining sun. Gack. I hate daytime.

Not really having any specific place to go, I just put my hands in my pockets and let myself be taken wherever my feet wanted to go. Without even realizing it I found myself get pulled to where Kuwabara's house was. I stood outside on the sidewalk and looked up at the open window wondering if the three days had gone by and Yusuke woke up. As if on cue, I heard his voice yelling at Kuwabara for pulling a dirty trick on him. I smiled and muttered, "Idiots."

"So they finally let you out?" a voice asked from a nearby tree. It didn't take a genius to realize who it was and I turned to see Hiei standing on a high branch with a smug smirk. He seemed fine and I couldn't help but smirk as a mutual agreement came between us. I wouldn't burden him and he'd tolerate my presence. At the moment, that was good enough.

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_**ME:**_** Well, there's chapter eight. Oh and that whole thing about my sensei and my Judo classes was all TRUE. I'm not lying to you. He was the strictest sensei in the area, but he was, by far, my favorite. He didn't put up with crap and I got a swift kick to the rear about my stubborn nature. He was nice when you caught him on a good day, but if it was a bad day we all went home sore.**

_**Hiei:**_** Hm……I like the sound of that sensei.**

_**ME:**_** I swear he was like my version of Genkai. If I didn't do something right I learned pretty damn quick for fear of coming home sore and bruised……and yet call me a masochistic fool because I loved every moment of it! I really miss my sensei……I wonder if he's still teaching……**

_**Hiei:**_** If he is, I feel sorry because he has to put up with you.**

_**ME:**_** Pft. My Sensei would kill me. I have the utmost respect for him and would never mouth off. Anyway, I hope this chapter was good! Review please! I would like some more feedback people! Please give me some reviews!**


	9. Mission Save Yukina and LIVE!

_**ME:**_** Hello my dear readers! We're now onto the Ninth Chapter of this story! I'm so happy!**

_**Hiei:**_** You seriously need your head examined.**

_**ME:**_** Hiei, I know I'm a little crazy. Why should I have to go to the doctor and have him say that if I already know it? It's a waste of my time and money. **

_**Hiei:**_** Money that you'd rather put into anime I presume?**

_**ME:**_** Damn straight. Whoa…someone put this story in a C2…AWESOME! PARTY PEOPLE! (Throws confetti in air and brings out candy galore.) Since this is something pretty cool for a self insert story, I'm relieving you of your job today Hiei.**

_**Hiei:**_** ……Repeat that. I didn't hear you right, because you couldn't have said that you were going to let me go off this chapter and do what I want.**

_**ME:**_** That's exactly what I said, Hiei! Now if you excuse me I have to start throwing out cyber candy. (Grabs a handful of candy and tosses it out to the readers and reviewers.) Thank you all for helping me out! **

_**Hiei:**_** ……this is what happens to sugar-happy fangirls.**

_**ME:**_** Alright! If I owned Yu-Yu Hakusho……I'D BE THE HAPPIEST PERSON IN THE WORLD! NOTHING WOULD EVER GET ME DOWN!**

_**Hiei:**_** (Grabs a handful of candy) I guess I might as well stay and just watch her crash. Too much sugar and too little sleep will kick in later.**

_**ME:**_** YAY! Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bounce! Well, enough of my sugar ranting. Chapter Start!**

**-------------**

_**Chapter 9: Mission…Save Yukina and Live!**_

"So they finally let you out?" a voice asked from a nearby tree. It didn't take a genius to realize who it was and I turned to see Hiei standing on a high branch with a smug smirk. He seemed fine and I couldn't help but smirk as a mutual agreement came between us. I wouldn't burden him and he'd tolerate my presence. At the moment, that was good enough.

"How long was I held there?" I asked looking at him curiously.

"You were holed up there for a day," Hiei answered jumping from his perch and landing softly beside me. Damn! How did he do that without making a lot of noise? That's freaking awesome!

"Wow," I muttered looking away from the house for a moment. Suddenly the memory of Hiei saving me popped into my mind and I turned to him saying, "Hey, Hiei. Thanks for saving me back there at Labyrinth Castle. I would've been dead without your help."

"Hn," Hiei answered emotionlessly. I looked at him curiously trying to figure out a way to thank him and actually get a decent response. It was then that an idea popped into my head and I smirked. Oh you gotta love the internet and its all knowing ways.

"Hey, Hiei, do you have anything planned for the next hour or so?" I said causing him to look at me curiously. He shook his head no and I grabbed his wrist saying, "Well, come on then!"

I dashed off and didn't even listen to Hiei's protests as I dragged him behind me. I spun around the corner and quickly spotted the place I wanted to go in a matter of moments. I glanced back at Hiei to see him glaring at me and hissing for me to let him go. I ignored him again and dragged him to the doors of the place with a satisfied smile. I turned to face him and said, "To show you how thankful I really am, I'm going to treat you to a human dessert that I think you'll come to like!"

Hiei glared at me in doubt, but didn't move as I walked into the Ice Cream Shop.

"Hi! How may I help you?" the bouncy girl behind the counter asked. I shivered at the acid ray of sunshine and quickly looked over the choices.

"Give me a cup of the Sherbet Swirl and another cup of the Double Chocolate," I said glancing at Hiei out of the corner of my eye. His head was cocked to the side and he watched intently as I took the ice cream from the girl. I paid her the money I owed her and went outside. I smiled at Hiei and handed him the Double Chocolate and a spoon saying, "Here you go! It's great!"

Hiei looked at the ice cream skeptically and muttered, "It looks like mud."

"Oh big baby," I sighed grabbing my spoon and taking a small bit of ice cream from his cup. I popped the spoon into my mouth and smiled as the ice cream melted on my tongue. I took it out and looked at him saying, "It's not mud and it's safe to eat."

Hiei growled at me in annoyance and put his own spoon in the ice cream. I smirked as he grudgingly brought the ice cream to his mouth and tasted it. For a moment his face stayed emotionless, but after a few seconds, he pulled the spoon out of his mouth saying, "So humans do have some use after all."

I laughed and began to eat my own ice cream as we walked down the street. Hiei finished his in record time and amazingly managed to keep his face completely clean through the entire speed eating. I smiled mischievously and looked at him saying, "Wow. You didn't get an ice cream headache from eating to fast. That must mean there's not to much to get cold in there!"

Hiei instantly glared at me and I saw his hand twitch for the hilt of his sword. I 'meeped' and ran like a bat out of hell. As soon as I came to a street that didn't have any humans on it, I jumped up to the nearest roof and cut out as fast as I could. I finished my ice cream and disposed of the cup just as Hiei caught up with me. We ran side by side for a moment, but then Hiei suddenly pulled ahead of me and glanced over his shoulder. There was a small smirk on his face and an evil glint in his eyes.

"Is that a challenge?" I asked speeding up to match his stride. He looked at me and instead of answering only quickened his pace. I ran to match it and said, "I take that as a yes!"

So we began our little game of speed……and I began losing horribly. That is, until my cell phone suddenly rang. We stopped in perfect unison and I answered it curiously, "Hello?"

"Rin!" NO! THE ACID RAY OF SUNSHINE! WHY IS SHE CALLING ME?!

"……Botan……" I muttered glancing at Hiei as his facial expression darkened at the dreaded name.

"Is Hiei with you? I have some important information for both of you and it would be easier to deliver it to both of you at once," Botan answered in a bouncy voice that made me sweatdrop.

"I'm not Hiei's keeper, but if I come across him on my way back home, I'll try to get him to come. How does that sound Botan?" I suggested looking at Hiei who looked at me curiously.

"Ok! I'll meet you at your apartment! If you see Hiei, get him to come too! Bye, Rin!" Botan said happily as she hung up the phone. I sighed and turned to Hiei.

"Botan has something important she wants us both to know. You can follow me back to the apartment they gave me or you can go off and let them find you later," I said sighing. I looked at him to see him thinking it over.

"So that's why you didn't outright say I was here……" Hiei muttered more to himself more than to me, but I still managed to catch it.

"Well, yeah. I didn't want to pull you in unless you wanted to come," I replied as I jumped down from the roof and began making my way down the street towards my apartment. I hadn't even made it ten feet before Hiei walked up next to me and fell into the stride beside me. I looked at him curiously and said, "So you're going to come with me to talk to the acid ray of sunshine?"

"She probably already knows that I was with you by the way you danced around her question," Hiei muttered in annoyance.

"Ouch. So it's my fault, huh?" I said not looking at him. He simply answered me with his monosyllable and we began walking down the street that led to my apartment. We walked up the stairs in silence and I opened to door only to come face to face with Botan……AND Koenma. I blinked as I moved aside for Hiei to come in and said, "Um……did I miss something here?"

"No. I just have a job for both of you and I thought it would be better if I delivered it to you in person," Koenma answered looking at us seriously as I closed the door behind us.

"Hn," Hiei answered walking over to the window. He sat down on the windowsill and looked over at Koenma expectantly.

"Translation. I'm here damn it so tell me what you want and let me be," I said smirking over at Hiei. He smirked in reply and looked back out the window as I sat down on the couch in the living room. Botan and Koenma seated themselves in the chairs across from me and Botan placed a black case on the table in front of us. I looked at them and said, "You've officially got my attention. What's going on?"

"Well, after that intense battle, Yusuke used up all his reserve power. His aura hasn't gotten the chance to rebuild itself and that most likely won't happen for some time. He'll be weaker than a normal human for a few days and his goose will be cooked if any demons take advantage of this. I request that you two, along with Kurama, watch over him until he can fully protect himself again," Koenma said in a fairly formal tone.

I lounged back against the pillows, "In other words, play as babysitters."

"To put things simply, yes. Also I noticed that you don't have any weapons Rin," Koenma said looking at me seriously.

"Uh…no, I don't. I've been fighting with my fists and lose control over my powers," I said scratching the side of my face slightly embarrassed, "I'm beginning to think that I'm worse than Yusuke with that."

"I see……If you would, Botan," Koenma motioned for Botan to stand and she obediently did. She moved over to me and set down a case beside me. I looked at her skeptically before reaching for the case and opening. I froze. There, sitting neatly inside, was a pair of beautifully made chakram. They were sharp around the edges and had the markings of dragons swirling around them all the way up to the handles. Best part of all of it was……THEY WERE RED! HELL YEAH! Uh……I mean……moving on now.

"These are the best pair of chakram that we have in the Underworld. They're light weight and adapt to the strength of the wielder. The stronger you become the stronger your weapons will grow. Train yourself and you'll become a pretty decent fighter," Koenma said as I picked up the smooth weapons and looked them over. I smirked as I imagined myself fighting with them and he continued, "They also have a few hidden qualities that you'll have to find out on your own. You'll also find that they have a belt which you can wear and attach them to your sides. They're made for traveling."

I whistled, "Thanks Koenma. I'll be sure to put them to good use."

"I also have something in particular that I would like Hiei to take care of," Koenma said reaching for the black case on the table. He opened the case and brought out a video cassette. I instantly realized it was the one that told of Yukina and what was happening to her and I became rigid. Koenma, Botan, and Hiei looked at me curiously and I refused to make eye contact as I got to my feet. I put the chakram on the couch and turned to the kitchen.

"I need something to drink," I muttered absently as I walked out of the room in a hurry. I walked over to the counter and gripped it so tightly that my knuckles turned white. Should I tell Hiei what was on that tape? It felt so wrong to hide it from him and it made my stomach turn in violent circles. What would Hiei do once I told him? Would he take a rash action and just run to kill her captors or would he think it through and give the tape to Yusuke?

I reached into the cabinet and pulled out a glass to set on the counter. I barely stopped myself from slamming the cabinet shut and picked up the glass to fill it with water. I took a sip and set it back down on the counter to think about the situation. Although, after two full minutes, I hadn't come up with anything

"Damn it! What good is knowing what's going to happen if you can't do anything about it?!" I snapped slamming my fist down on the counter causing the glass to shake. I watched it as if it was in slow motion as it fell off the counter and fell to the floor with a crash. Glass spread instantly around and I stood there for a moment watching the glass glint on the floor. I shook my head and bent down to clean up the glass. Botan chose that moment to suddenly run into the room and scare the living hell out off me so badly that I cut my good hand on the glass, "OUCH!"

"I'm so sorry, Rin! I'm sorry!" Botan gushed over dramatically as she ran over to me. Koenma and Hiei quickly made the scene causing me to feel my temper shorten. If there was one thing that ticked me off more than anything it was one person freaking out while everyone else remained calm. It only takes one person to start a panic. And Botan just happened to be that one person.

"Botan…" I managed to growl in a strained tone. She looked at me with wide eyes and I continued, "I'm fine and you're overreacting. So please, calm it down or leave the kitchen."

"You're bleeding though," Botan tried reaching for the glass, but I quickly wrapped my bandaged fingers around her wrist.

"I'm fine. Please get back so you don't cut yourself," I muttered barely keeping my annoyance hidden this time. Botan may have sensed this and stepped back while I quickly scooped up the glass not cutting myself more than I already did. I walked over to the trash and carelessly dumped it before walking over to the sink. I stuck my hand under the faucet and poured water onto the cut. I stared at the red water in fascination as I asked, "So is there anything else you want me to do instead of watch over Yusuke?"

"Uh……um……no. I've already given Hiei his mission and we're needed back in Reikai. I guess we should take our leave," Koenma said in a confused tone. Whether it was because of my short temper or the way I was watching the water, I couldn't say.

"Good day," I muttered suppressing my annoyance. There was silence and I soon sensed Botan and Koenma leave the apartment, but Hiei's aura was a completely different matter. I actually sensed him standing behind me and he didn't seem like he was going to be moving anytime soon. I realized that my blood had stopped giving the water a red tint and turned off the water. I grabbed a towel and pressed it to my hand as I turned to look at Hiei, "Can I help you?"

"You seem more interested with your blood that the mission Koenma gave you," Hiei noted as he held out a bandage to me. I took the bandage and began covering the wound as Hiei continued, "You're mind is not easy to read, but the way you react to a situation is. Something about this tape upset you."

It was a statement. Not a question. I bit down on my lip and thought over my options. I could tell Hiei or I could not. Either way something bad would happen. Either to myself or him. I guess I could take the lesser of the two evils and not tell him. Yet, if he found out……I'd be as good as dead. Then again…who said I'd have to tell him straight out about it?

"Did that annoying Prince tell you what was on it?" I asked noticing that he was moving toward the window. He opened it and put one foot on the windowsill before turning to answer me.

"No, but he just wishes for me to give it to the detective. Whether I stay or go with the human is my choice," with that the apparition jumped out the window, but not before I shouted for him to stop. I ran over and looked around to see him standing on the tree branch looking at me expectantly.

"Trust me on this one, ok?" I began trying choosing my words VERY carefully. He looked at me suspiciously and I continued, "Once you give Yusuke that and tell him what it is, you should keep an eye on where he goes. Look real closely at the auras that will be in the area around where he goes. You'll find one in particular very interesting. Once you do, you'll know what to do."

"What are you rambling about? I don't care for riddles," Hiei growled looking at me suspiciously.

"I can't tell you anymore. I've already told you too much, but know that I would tell you everything if I could. Don't kill me when you find out, ok?" I answered looking at him pleadingly.

"Hn. Whatever," Hiei answered in annoyance. He turned his back on me and quickly disappeared from the tree branch. I sighed and shook my head at him. Knowing Hiei, he would probably just follow them now instead of paying close attention. It wouldn't surprise me much.

"I wonder what I can do now…" I moved away from the kitchen and went over to where my chakram were lying on the couch. I pulled out the belt and quickly put it around my hips. I fastened the chakram on each side and grabbed my keys off the table. I grabbed a sheet of paper and quickly scribbled down my address, apartment number, and cell phone number. It would be smart to give Yusuke that information and that'll keep him from having to search for me if I'm needed on a mission. As soon as the last thing was scribbled down, I folded the paper and stuck it in my pocket. I was out the door and locking it in a matter of seconds after that. If I hurried, I might have the chance to catch Yusuke and Kuwabara before they go after Yukina.

So I was running as fast as I possibly could and was running around the entrance of the place in a matter of minutes. I looked in and saw that Yusuke and Kuwabara hadn't made an appearance yet, so I snuck in a different way. I hid amongst some trees and waited quietly for the huge scene to take place. Just as I did so however, a troupe of four half-demons stomped up and caught sight of me.

"Hm……something to do before the huge fight," the ugliest one of them sneered looking at me with glinting eyes.

"Damn. I was hoping I would just come up when the fight started," I growled coming out from my hiding spot. I caught sight of Yusuke and Kuwabara making the scene so I looked at the demons and said, "You're not worth my time. Get out of the way."

"Oooh. Think you can take us, little girl?" the second demon asked looking at me from behind a curtain of black hair.

"That's it. Now you're getting it," I growled feeling an anime vein protrude on my forehead. I lunged forward without even reaching for my weapons and threw my knee into the closest guy's gut. As soon as he hunched over, I grabbed his arm and spun around so his arm was resting right on the joint of my elbow. I lifted him up slightly and turned the rest of my body, performing a two armed Judo throw. He was sent clean off the ground and slammed directly into one of his allies.

With that I slid one foot forward and moved right to the side of the closest standing half-demon. I put my other leg right behind his and slammed my fist right into the middle of his chest. This successfully knocked the wind out of him and knocked him clean off his balance. Needless to say, he hit the ground with a crash. Then I turned around and……got decked in the jaw. The demon was so strong that I was sent sprawling to the ground and was kicked clean out of the little hidden area we were in. I laid on the ground for a moment and watched some blood drip from the corner of my mouth. He caused one of my gums to bleed. Damn it. I stood back up and cracked my neck. I was pissed!

"Bastard!" I shouted running at him slamming my fist into the middle of his face. This time he was the one sent flying out of the trees and crashed on the ground right out where all those fighters could see. Not really caring that everyone-consisting of all those people that were trying to kill Yusuke and Kuwabara AND the Underworld Detectives-was staring at the clump of trees, I began beating the mess out of the half-demons. I finished the other three and piled them right on top of the first. I stood there within the trees for a moment and then walked out when I was sure I was calm. I saw everyone looking over at me and waved saying, "Hey."

Yusuke, Kuwabara, and almost all the other people standing there sweatdropped.

"You just beat four big guys to unconsciousness and all you have to say is 'hi'? You have serious issues," Yusuke sighed shaking his head at me.

"Not my problem. Anyway, I just wanted to give you some information Urameshi," I said reaching into my pocket and pulling out. I handed it over to him and turned around saying, "Use that to get into touch with me when you get a new mission. Koenma wants me to go on the next mission with you. Now, that I finished that, I'm going hom……I mean back to the apartment. See ya."

With that I ran away from the area as fast as I could. I don't know what came over me, but I suddenly felt very antisocial. So I ran back home and turned on the TV wondering what the hell had come over me. It was then that I realized that I was thinking about home more and more. What were they all doing? Did they know what happened yet? I pulled my knees up to my chest and tightly wrapped my arms around them.

"Maybe……maybe I don't want to go back……not now anyway," I muttered into my knees as my eyes closed against my will.

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"COME ON RIN! ANSWER THE DOOR!" a roar erupted through my mind. I fell off the couch in surprise and collapsed onto the ground with a huge crash. I scrambled to my feet and once again fell over and crashed against the table. I swore loudly and another knock came at the door, "Rin…are you alright?"

"Do I f-ing sound ok?" I answer in aggravation. Finally after getting to my feet and unlocking the door, I came face-to-face with Yusuke and Kuwabara. I shook my head to clear the sleep from me and growled, "What is it now?"

"We have a mission!" Kuwabara nearly screeched into my ears.

"Yeah, Koenma has us saving a demoness from a guy who wants her tears. They turn into jewels that he sells," Yusuke said pushing Kuwabara into a wall. He looked at me and said, "He hasn't shut up since he found out."

"…OH YUKINA!" I suddenly remembered which mission he was referring to. I ran around my apartment and came out in five minutes flat. I locked up and looked at them saying, "Let's get a move on!"

So we ran off without another word. Well, the only reason why we didn't say anything else was because Yusuke and I were doing our damned best to keep up with Kuwabara! The guy was insane I swear! I thought my legs were going to fall off with how fast we were running.

"_Jeeze! Is he always like this?" _I whined telepathically to Yusuke.

"_Not always. Hey, you know the girl we're going to save right? Well…"_ here Yusuke fell silent and looked around as if expecting someone to come up and cut off his head.

"_Yeah, I already know. She's Hiei's little sister. Trust me. I'm going to get it later. He'll know that I knew, but didn't tell him,"_ I sighed shaking my head and Yusuke and I cleared a small fence. SWEET! Gotta love grace!

"_Well…good luck,"_ Yusuke said dropping the conversation. I glared at his back but shook my head as we came up to the area where Yukina was being held. We slowed a little to a brisk walk as we sensed the mansion was nearby and I saw Kuwabara twitching with anticipation. Before anything else could be done, Kuwabara struck the most heroic pose he could and shouted, "Patience, Lady of the Snow! I'll save you! So I swear!"

"Good thing he didn't see the rest of the tape," Yusuke whispered quietly to me.

"Who knows, maybe that would've made him save her to put Hiei in debt," I whispered back with a smile on my face.

"Kuwabara's not that smart. Besides, it wouldn't work out like that," Yusuke said calmly as he looked around suspiciously. I then realized that he knew that Hiei was already following our position carefully. I looked around as well and saw a shadow run from one tree top to another one near it. I looked at it carefully and was almost completely sure I saw a pair of red eyes leering down at me.

That was when Kuwabara suddenly stopped and we had to stop ourselves from running into his back. We looked around him curiously and saw one of the bodyguards standing in front of us. He looked at us with a dead look in his eyes and growled, "Buzz off, kids. This is private property."

"I'm really sorry about that. We didn't mean to trespass or anything," I said bowing slightly.

"Yeah, it's late, we missed our train and we thought…" Kuwabara stared at the guy with a little freaked look on his face. I didn't blame him. The guy standing in front of us looked creepy.

"…We thought we could stay the night at Tarukane's mansion!" Yusuke said quickly filling in for Kuwabara.

The guy then told us that we couldn't do that. Then just as he told us we'd be leaving in body bags, his entire body began to make one fugly transformation. Once he finished the demon began telling us about the fact we would die, but I wasn't paying it any attention. I was looking at the glare Yusuke was shooting the guy. It was clear he was pissed.

"The girl being held here is a demon, too. One of your own kind, right? Doesn't it bother you that these scumball humans are having their way with her?" Yusuke growled as Kuwabara's facial expression changed to match his. I looked at them closely and couldn't help but feel a little stronger. They were bound to save Yukina. Heck, I think they'd of saved her even if it wasn't a mission. Yusuke and Kuwabara probably would've gone off even if they hadn't been told to. It made me think. Maybe spending time with them, no matter how hotheaded they may be, would be a good thing for me. I might be able to have reasons for acting so reckless. It always works for them.

"Why should it?" the demon's sudden words snapped me from my thoughts an caused a little anger to well inside of me. I glared at him as he continued emotionlessly, "You humans are always ready to sell each other out to please your selfish inclinations. Why should you expect demons to be any less greedy? Hee Hee…I'd bet if there was a pile of money in it for you, you'd each throw the other to the dogs for it. Not to mention I'm sure that demoness would leap at the chance to befriend another person who would pay her a hefty sum to watch you two die."

"Then that's a fat lot you know…about US!" Yusuke shouted as he charged his hand and Kuwabara brought out his sword.

"I'm here on my own will thanks. In fact, I'd rather watch you die than go to someone else who could pay me a 'hefty sum'. Whether I'm greedy or not. I have something called 'independence'. In case you don't know what that is, it's the ability to live alone without having to listen to dirt bag tell me to do his dirty work!" I growled looking at the hideous mutant octopus demons before me.

"HAH! All high and mighty, are we?!" the demon screeched lunging at us with his hands and tentacles aimed at us. Kuwabara swiftly rushed forward and cut through the demon like he was fresh sushi. The demon merely gasped in pain and stared at us in surprise as Yusuke completely destroyed him with a Rei Bullet.

"Demon scum," I growled shaking my head. I looked over to the guys and said, "Welp, let's get moving."

"Hell yeah!" they shouted in unison as we leapt off. In a matter of seconds we had gotten deeper into the place and had taken down twelve of his men in less than a minute. We had just come up on the mansion when a sudden large group of mutated demon wolfs pounced on us. I gave a cry as I went down and saw Yusuke and Kuwabara make it to safety. They turned around ready to help me out, but I shook my head.

"Go on ahead! I'm a wolf demoness remember?! I bet I'll be after you in less than five minutes! Go on!" I smiled as I threw one wolf over me with a Judo throw. I jumped up and looked to see them already hightailing it outta there. I sweatdropped and muttered, "Well, that didn't take any convincing. Nice to know you guys care."

"_Don't ignore your surroundings,"_ a voice echoed throughout my head. I blinked in surprise and felt something sharp claw across my wrapped up arm. My entire body instantly froze and I hit the ground like a ton of bricks. I spun on my back just in time to stop a pair of jaws from clamping down on my shoulder.

"Oh shit," I sighed kicking the wolf off. I jumped up and tried to project my thoughts towards the demon wolfs, _"Come on! I don't want to fight you! Can't you tell that I have wolf in me too! And besides! This human causing you all to fight is about to be destroyed! Don't you want to leave?!"_

"_How do we know you're not trying to trick us?!"_ a female voice screamed through my head. I staggered slightly and looked around to see a wolf with black fur approaching me. The rest of them backed down and she stopped in front of me with a murderous glint in her eyes. The only thing that made me feel a little better was that she also looked curious. She wanted to know how I could talk to them and she was willing to listen to me, _"You could be trying to kill us! How can we trust you?!"_

"_I don't know how you want me to prove to you that I'm not lying but please! I wouldn't send you all to your deaths like that!" _I said trying desperately to get them to believe me.

"_Show us your wolf form!"_ an older male's voice called to me. I spun around and saw a wolf with gray fur walking up to me. The wolf looked old and crippled. His dark brown eyes locked with mine and continued, _"If you want us to believe you, you should become like us. Show us you as a wolf."_

"_How do I do that?"_ I asked quietly after thinking on it for a moment. I bent down so I could be eye-level with the gray wolf. I took a deep breath and said,_ "I don't know how to turn. If I did, I would in a heartbeat. But I can't."_

The gray wolf looked over me for a moment and then looked out to the pack. Many of them were saying something along the lines of completely destroying me, but a few of them wanted me to be telling the truth. So the old wolf looked back at me and said, _"Close your eyes and think of what you would look like as a wolf and how you would act."_

I looked around skeptically, but did as I was told. As soon as I began thinking of what I should look like as a wolf, I felt something strange happen. I gasped in surprise and the next thing I knew was that I was on all fours. I opened my eyes and looked over my self to see I had dark brown fur and a long tail that was flickering behind me in confusion. WHAT THE HELL?!

"_We believe you. We'll leave it to you then. If you wish to return human just think of your human form,"_ with that said the wolves turned from me and ran off. I stood there in confusion and shook my head. Then I noticed something that almost gave me a heart attack.

Someone was picking me up.

"Don't you dare turn around and bite me," a familiar voice said above me as I began to growl. I stopped and looked up to see a certain three-eyed demon looking down on me. My ears squared back against my head and my tail jerked in an annoyed fashion. Hiei merely offered a quiet snicker and said, "You don't look so dangerous in this form. Deceiving little thing aren't you."

"_Put me down smartass,"_ I growled looking up at him in annoyance.

"Hn," Hiei put me back down and said in an annoyed tone, "Hurry up and return to your human form. I have something I must discuss with you."

Oh jeeze. Sounds like boatloads of fun! NOT!

I quickly shook myself and fixed my fur to a more comfortable position. Then I closed my eyes and quickly thought back about what I originally looked like. In a matter of quick moments I was on my two feet staggering off to the side. Turning between those two forms was definitely going to take some getting used to.

"Oh man. That's not good," I whined as a sudden hand gripped my shoulder.

"You lied," Hiei growled slamming me against a nearby tree.

"I didn't lie!" I freaked. I knew this was going to happen! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I KNEW IT! Ok, calm down. Maybe there's a way to get out of this with my life somewhat intact.

Then again…with the way Hiei was glaring at me…maybe not.

SHIZNE!!!!!!!

"You didn't tell me that the detective's mission had to do with saving Yukina," Hiei glared as he grabbed my throat in anger. He pressed my body against the tree trunk even harder and growled, "You didn't tell me that you knew what was on that tape!"

"I wasn't supposed to know until today!" I squeaked halfway expecting him to send a punch my way. When nothing happened, I slowly looked at him to see that he had stopped moving completely.

"What do you mean you weren't supposed to know?" Hiei asked loosening his grip on my throat.

Shit. There goes my big mouth and me sticking my foot in it.

"Well…if you want the honest to god truth I kind of know some of the things that'll happen to you guys before they happen. Like how Yusuke is going to beat Toguro with Kuwabara's help as they try to save your sister. There are some things I don't know and some things I do," I lied looking at him carefully. I couldn't very well tell him everything that would happen, but at this point I had no choice but to tell him something!

"Where are you from?" Hiei asked as his eyes narrowed a bit.

"I……can't tell you that. Just know that I haven't told anyone about my little…power…and I don't want anyone knowing," I answered looking away from him. I stayed quiet and let Hiei decide what he was going to do know that he knew.

"Keep your mouth shut about the future," Hiei hissed instantly releasing his grip on my throat. I looked at him in surprise and watched him step away from the tree to look at the mansion. He looked back to me and said, "So you said Yukina was being brought to the same room as them?" I nodded. "Then that's where we're going."

"Hiei," I started as he began to walk away. He turned around and looked at me prompting me to continue, "Thanks."

"Just tell me one thing. Why was it that my Evil-eye couldn't sense Yukina?" Hiei asked looking back at me as if I hadn't even spoken.

I sighed inwardly. Maybe that was his way of saying no big deal, but it was still annoying to be ignored like that. I looked at him and said, "He's been keeping talismans on the room he has her in. They're pretty strong."

"Hn, I see," Hiei replied as he continued walking to the mansion. I quickly followed after him and in a matter of moments we found ourselves running through the halls.

"Hehehehehehehe," I cackled as I stepped down heavily on all of the demon triad's heads as we ran past them. Headaches courtesy of Rin Ishida, "Nyahahahahahahahahahahaha."

Hiei glanced back at me with the 'WTF' look written all over his face.

"What?" I asked looking at him innocently.

"Never mind," Hiei answered as he quickened the pace he was moving at. I followed after him and we ran through the hall that was before Toguro's room. We ran even faster and came skidding into the room where Yukina was watching the fight. I ran in front of Hiei and quickly took down the guards that were keeping Yukina standing in one place. I smiled as I stepped on one's back and watched Hiei look carefully over Yukina for a moment. Then we came up behind that horrible excuse for a human being and Hiei slid in front of Yukina saying, "Turn around fatso."

He spun around in terror and met with Hiei's enraged aura. The room around us seemed to go up twenty degrees temperature wise and I fanned myself with my hand. I blew a small breath through my lips and whispered to myself, "Yep, the dumbass pissed Hiei off."

"I hear you kept Yukina caged with talismans. Explains why my Evil-eye couldn't find her. But then you let her out. Careless…" Hiei began moving threateningly towards him. The fat idiot shouted for him to stay back and I nearly laughed as Hiei slugged the living hell out of him. I turned my laughter into a perfectly disguised cough and Hiei stood over him saying emotionlessly, "I won't kill you. Yukina's worth far more than your pitiful life."

"Th…thank you…um…Who are you?" Yukina said looking at Hiei gratefully.

Hiei flinched and it went completely unnoticed by Yukina. He looked over at her and said, "Oh just…a friend of theirs."

Yukina blinked and quickly ran off to go help them. I turned to Hiei and said, "I'm going to head back. Could you tell Yusuke congrats for me?"

Hiei nodded and I turned away to walk out of the room. I quickly left the mansion behind me and went back into the city. It took a while considering I was walking at normal human speed and it was well into the night when I came within the city limits. I began to walk towards my apartment, but suddenly stopped. I suddenly realized something that I should've realized back at the mansion.

I was being followed.

I spun around and looked up at the nearest building roof and felt all my veins freeze beneath my skin. I swallowed hard and gaped up at the figures that were leering down at me. The Toguro brothers and Morte were smirking down at me with murderous smirks plastered on their faces.

"Damn," I growled spinning on my heels and tearing off as fast as I possibly could. I closed my eyes tightly and felt my heart pounding against my chest. There was no possible way that I could even lay a single scratch on those three. There was just no way and I knew that if they caught me……dead might not even be a good word to cover it.

I quickly ran into some woods nearby and began weaving in and out of the trees. If I had any luck none of them would be able to follow me in such an enclosed place. It was a slim hope, but it was the best one that I had. I pushed myself even faster and began pushing myself off of the trees trying to gain myself some speed.

"_Oh come now, Rin. Do you honestly think you could run from me?"_ Morte's voice purred throughout my mind. I felt my heart plummet to my stomach. My foot suddenly caught against something on the ground and when I looked down I saw a bomb made of spirit energy. I closed my eyes tightly and felt the huge explosion erupt beneath me burning my left leg a little. I slammed into a tree and lied there in a daze.

She had me. That godforsaken wench had me and I was in for a world of pain.

I slowly sat up and blinked the haze out of my eyes. I looked at the ground ten feet in front of me and saw three pairs of shoes. I slowly looked up and locked eyes with all three of people who could kill me without even batting an eye. I pushed myself against the trunk of the tree and looked up to Morte saying, "Well, it's been a while. Three or so days."

"I thought I'd be nice and check up on that arm of yours. How's it healing?" Morte asked in a sickly sweet tone.

"So this is the demoness that you said liked to cause you problems? She doesn't look like much," the elder Toguro said looking at me condescendingly.

"Yes, well you've learned that what may not look like much can actually turn out to be a whole lot of something. Take Yusuke Urameshi for example," Morte said glaring at me angrily.

"I think she may have some potential," the younger Toguro said without breaking eye contact, "She's brave to some degree. After all she hasn't broken eye contact with me."

"That's not bravery. That's impudence," Morte said running forward and kicking the mess out of my singed leg. I hissed in pain and curled my right hand into a fist. I quickly brought myself to my feet and tried to punch Morte before she could jump away. I wasn't fast enough and she quickly jumped back before I could reach her. Morte glared at me and said, "You're absolutely pathetic. Do you honestly think you can stand against me? Get smart and just disappear. I'm only interested in Urameshi."

"Well, maybe you should've gone after him instead," I growled looking out of the corner's of my eyes for an escape route. I couldn't even find one. Shizne.

"Oh no. Then I would've missed the chance to try out my new strength on something. You see the Toguro brothers were kind enough to help me out," Morte smirked at me in the most malicious way possible. She suddenly summoned a large ogre like demon only a few feet from me and kept him locked on the spot. She pointed her fingers at him and he began pleading for his life. She laughed in a tone of ice and I felt my heart racing against my ribcage. What was she going to do to this demon? What power had they given her? What was going to happen to me?

"You see. I've learned to make bombs out of my demonic energy. I hope you like what you see," Morte cackled as she snapped her fingers at the demon's shoulder. He let out this pitiful shriek as his entire shoulder blew to bits right in front of my face. I stared at the demon in horror as blood splattered all over him and me. I kept my eyes from looking at his shoulder since it was gushing blood and I could see the muscles and everything. Morte on the other hand absolutely loved the blood and muscles. She began snapping her fingers at the demon again and blood was splattering all over me. Soon I was drenched in blood and the demon was barely standing in front of me. I took a glance at the demon and say that there was blood absolutely everywhere and that I could see some of his insides. I fell back against the tree trunk in horror and watched the now deformed demon twitch and jerk in front of me as crimson stained the entire area. Morte laughed maniacally and said, "Why don't you two take over?"

"Gladly," the elder Toguro said with an evil laugh. Instantly holes appeared in the demon's body and he made a strange gurgling sound in the back of his throat. Then Toguro's killer fingers shot through the demon and pinned me to the tree. His nails were so close to me that the blood from the demon actually seeped into my own clothes and the stench flew up into my nose. The world began to spin and I heard my sleeves tear as they cut closer to my skin. My voice lodged itself in my throat and my heart felt like it was going to burst. I could feel myself begin to hyperventilate. I was going to die here. There was no way I was getting out of this and I knew it. CRAP!

"Let's wrap this up. We have other invites to hand out," the younger Toguro said.

"Alright," his older brother answered completely shredding the demon in front of me as if it was nothing and then pulling back his nails to lick the blood off. I lost it and puked at seeing all the insides of the demon. After I had finished puking I straightened up and found the younger Toguro looming over me. I stared up at him in fear as he pumped himself up to thirty percent. He punched the tree just over my left shoulder and completely turned it all to the size of toothpicks. Maybe even smaller. I was delusional with fear by that point.

"Consider yourself 'invited' to the Dark Tournament. Do realize that if you choose not to come, Urameshi's team will be disqualified and we'll send demons to kill them," Toguro said staring down at me. I began shaking as I stared into his eyes and saw nothing but the intent to fight to the death.

"We're leaving," Morte said turning her back on me. The Toguro brothers and Morte then seemed to disappear before my very eyes. Of course I already felt my knees buckling under me and I met the ground in a matter of seconds. Then I saw black.

-------------

"I found her in the woods nearby. She hasn't come around since Botan healed her," a soft voice echoed in the air around me. I suddenly felt myself lying on something soft and there was a small breeze drifting through the air. I moved a little and opened my eyes to see that I was in my bedroom at the apartments. I blinked in surprise and shot into a sitting position. I looked around the room and saw a particularly familiar shadow sitting on my windowsill. And it spoke, "Baka Onna."

-------------

_**ME:**_** Well, there ya go! It's the ninth chapter of the story! YAYZ!**

_**Hiei:**_** Five…four…three…**

_**ME:**_** What are you counting down to?**

_**Hiei:**_** You'll see. Two…one…now.**

_**ME:**_** (Opens mouth to say something but falls over backwards and collapses asleep)**

_**Hiei:**_** Ha. I knew she'd lose it. Anyway. She hopes you all liked this chapter and she wants you to know some updates may come over break. She's been trying to update but her evil incarnate teachers wouldn't let her. Anyway she hopes for some reviews and she swears she'll update more.**

_**ME:**_** (Mutters in sleep) Please review! Please!**

_**Hiei:**_** (Blinks) Well…you heard her. Review.**

**(I tried to catch all my grammatical errors but there still may be a few. I apologize for that and will try to make them smaller in number.)**


	10. Prepare for the Dark Tournament

_**ME:**_** I'm back! Oh…did the ending of the last chapter jack the story up too bad? I was just getting annoyed of such calm little fights with what was in the original. I wanted to experiment with something evil and nasty!**

_**Hiei:**_** You are one strange Ningen. You understand this?**

_**ME:**_** I'm not a Ningen! I'm a Yokai like you! My powers are just a little less conspicuous.**

_**Hiei:**_** Hn. I highly doubt that. But shouldn't you be partying again? Someone else put this in another C2.**

_**ME:**_** (Blank face. Does a few double takes) OMG! (Jumps at Hiei and pulls him into a bear hug) AWESOME!**

_**Hiei**_**: Let go of me, you baka onna!**

_**ME:**_** YAY! (Hugs Hiei even tighter) Quit being such a stiff! Be happy!**

_**Hiei:**_** Don't you have a shout out or something you're supposed to say?**

_**ME:**_** Yes I do. You're lucky Hiei. Ok! This is for Outlaw-Lanava! Thank you for the review and I'll try as hard as I possibly can to update more! Its just getting hard but I'll try! And another shout out would go to Brandy. Nice reviews. Evil Gummy Bears and Mutant Hamsters huh? I like the way you think! Hehehe. Thanks for reviewing everyone and I'll try to update more often!**

_**Hiei:**_** This crazy baka onna only owns her character……and my doubt of her sanity.**

_**ME:**_** Hey, hey, hey. Leave my sanity out of this. We all know it's questionable. Hehehehe. (Hugs Hiei again) Ok people, enough stalling. Here's the next chappie! **

**-------------**

_**Chapter 10: Prepare For The Dark Tournament!**_

"I found her in the woods nearby. She hasn't come around since Botan healed her," a soft voice echoed in the air around me. I felt myself lying on something soft and there was a small breeze drifting through the air. I moved a little and opened my eyes to see that I was in my bedroom at the apartments. I blinked in surprise and shot into a sitting position. I looked around the room and saw a particularly familiar shadow sitting on my windowsill. And it spoke, "Baka Onna."

I cocked my eyebrow and looked at him calmly. He seemed sort of agitated and there was something that seemed to spark behind his eyes as he glared at me. He had a cell phone up to his ear and I could hear the small buzz of someone speaking to him. My eyes narrowed down on the cell phone and my demonic ears perked to hear someone asking, "……mental condition?"

"She seems to be fine, looking at me from where she is," Hiei answered looking at me without any emotion.

"You sound so concerned," I muttered stifling a yawn behind the back of my hand, "So who are you talking to?"

"I'll call you back Kurama," Hiei dismissed my question as he hung up the phone and hid it away within his black cloak. Then he continued to look at me as if I hadn't said anything.

Slightly irritated that my question was so easily brushed aside I cocked my eyebrow at him saying, "I'm surprised you even know how to use a cell phone considering you've never tasted ice cream."

The regular monosyllable was his reply and he calmly slipped away from the windowsill to stand in front of me. He quietly slipped an apple out from within his cloak and dropped it in my hands saying, "You've been deprived four days worth of food. If you don't eat something soon you're bound to collapse again."

"I've been out for four days?!" WHAT THE HELL?!

"Possibly more. We only found you four days ago. Who knows how long you were lying in that pool of blood," Hiei sniffed causing a violent shiver to race down my spine. I looked down at the apple and calmly turned it over in my hands.

"How pathetic can one person be?" I muttered shaking my head slightly. I glanced up from the apple and saw that Hiei was looking at me in curious confusion. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that he was probably guessing on whether I was still sane or not. I quietly laughed and continued half aloud and half to myself, "I allowed myself to get terrified and froze on the spot. Morte could've done me in with ease. How stupid can I get?"

"I can't answer that even though I have a decent guess," Hiei sniffed sitting back down on the windowsill. He stared at the window and something inside of me snapped and before I could stop I found myself telling him everything.

"I went ahead to go back home because I had something on my mind that had been bugging me all day. It was sometime after the sun had set when I reached the city limits and I was walking back to my apartment when I sensed something wrong. I looked up and saw all three of them on the nearby roof. Those three followed me at some point and-"

"Three?" Hiei slid quietly causing me to stop my sudden gush. I took a deep breath and calmed myself before continuing a little quieter than before.

"The Toguro brothers and Morte. I thought I could outrun them. Then…Morte caught up to me and……" I trailed off thinking about how she completely destroyed that demon right in front of my eyes. I shook my head and sighed, "I'm pathetic. I let myself freeze and she could've easily killed me if she wanted to."

"But instead you were invited to the Dark Tournament," Hiei said closing his eyes for a moment.

"I'm not strong enough," I growled tightening my grip on the apple so my nails dug into its bright red skin. Some of its ripe juices spilled out over my sharp nails and slowly moved down my fingers to my hand. I quickly stood and continued, "I have to start training as soon as possible. If I'm not stronger by the time of the tournament I'll only be a burden on you guys."

"Do you honestly plan on getting far on your own?"

That stopped me dead in my tracks. Training alone wouldn't do much for me, but training with someone else would actually push my limits. Plus, I needed to build up some tolerance to the Jagan-eye if I wanted to show Morte who was the bigger and tougher bitch. A little light bulb suddenly dinged over my head and I smirked as Hiei stood. I quickly spun so I was facing him and gave him a really deep bow of respect, "Hiei-sama, would you please be gracious enough to train with me for the next two months until the day of the tournament?"

Hiei had NOT expected this from me and began stuttering as he tried to answer. Although I found this completely entertaining, I kept my face straight and refused to even let the smallest snicker escape my lips. Finally he became silent and I looked up to see him studying me very closely.

"Hn. Whatever," he answered after a moment of silence. His eyes stared coldly at the window as he continued, "It's of little consequence one way or the other. But do not expect me to 'cut you some slack'. I train to my limits and you are expected to as well!"

"I understand," I replied bowing to him once again. When I straightened up I took a bite of the apple and relaxed. I couldn't be sure, but something told me that everything was going to be fine. Yeah, Morte was a new threat and she had the ability to change the story line until someone was killed, but……something told me that the Underworld Detectives would be able to handle it. Even if I ended up dying because of everything that would happen, I felt at peace. At least I wouldn't have screwed up their lives too much. Then again, something told me that the Underworld Detectives were going to become my greatest life line.

So the next day, after telling Koenma everything that happened, Hiei and I set out to the woods. Once there we commenced what Hiei liked to call, 'The Training from Hell'. All I have to say is this. HIEI'S A SLAVE DRIVER! He beat me so far into the ground that I was actually in danger of becoming apart of it and then demanded that I get right back up for more. My demonic body adapted to the attacks each time I was struck down, but my strength would only grow a small bit for each attack. It was aggravating to know that no matter how much I tried to get stronger I only got better by small measures. Meanwhile Kurama, Hiei, Yusuke, and Kuwabara were easily moving along with ease. Why was it, that no matter how hard I tried, I always came up short?

It was then that an insanely crazy idea came to me. It was one of those ideas that seemed so crazy that it just might work. So at the end of our first training session I looked at Hiei and asked him to bind my powers back with the Jagan-eye.

"What was the training for if you only wish for it to be bound back afterwards?" Hiei asked trying to hide the confusion with indifference.

"It's a way for me to build up my strength and store some power in my reserves. I'm painfully weak to the Jagan-eye and not only will this help me build some immunity to it, it'll make your powers more deadly than they already are," I said carefully playing my words to give me a strategic advantage, "Though it'll seem like we keep starting over, both of our skills will be growing and refining themselves."

Hiei seemed to like this explanation and mere seconds later I felt some of my strength leave my body……more so than I had intended. I staggered and Hiei was forced to help me back to the apartment. I learned then how much harder this training was going to be and how hard I was going to have to work to try to keep up with him. As time went by we both learned about each other's styles and were able to fight more effectively to push each other to our limits. Then we raced back to the apartments to get some rest and then head out to train once again. On weekends I would stop by the Minamino residence and see how everything was going and catch up. I always got a hot meal out of it and I made sure that I gave some of the food I had left over to Hiei who was always nearby. Not surprising since he was forbidden to leave by Reikai and Lord Pain-In-The-Ass Koenma. A month passed in this fashion and I wanted to know a little more about Hiei than just what I knew from the anime and manga. There had to be some more to him that what we always saw. So I finally struck a deal.

"How about with each hit we land we get to ask a question and the other has to answer. Is it a deal?" I asked stretching before we started our training session. I could literally see Hiei mulling it over in his mind before giving a slight nod of agreement. I smiled and grabbed my weapons so we could get to training. After a moment I leapt forward and our sparring match began. Hiei of course got plenty of hits on me with ease and I made sure I was as truthful as I possibly could be with all my answers. I was beginning to wonder though if Hiei let me land the hits I got on him. He sure as hell didn't seem surprised or aggravated when I landed them. So to make sure he kept letting get a few hits I kept my questions simple. I asked him what his favorite time of day was, what his favorite kind of sword was, and small things like that.

Hiei's answers were always short, sweet, and to the point and because of this questions came to mind that I KNEW I better not ask. So I constantly found myself biting back my questions and sticking to the smaller ones that let me learn a few things about him. After a while though I just couldn't stand it and finally asked a question that I really wanted HIM to answer, "Do you make tear jewels if you cry?"

Hiei instantly froze and stared at me. A stiff air hit me in the chest and I immediately backed down knowing I had pushed it too far. I cursed myself under my breath and quickly put away my weapons. Bowing to Hiei, I excused myself and raced to the store. It didn't take a genius to figure out I hit a sensitive spot and I needed to find a way to make it alright again. So I bought some ice cream and went home. I wrote an apology to Hiei and left it on the table as I put up the ice cream. Then I cleaned myself up and went to bed.

I don't know if Hiei completely forgave me, but the next day he was there ready to train and I noticed the ice cream I bought was missing. That really made me feel a little bit better. So we headed out to train and the deal continued. I was just more careful on what I asked him.

So the time came when we only had a day and a half left until we had to meet up for the tournament. After the training session I looked at Hiei and said, "I won't be able to train tomorrow. I'll be finishing up some final things before the tournament. The next time I see you will be at the meeting site."

Suspicion flashed in his eyes, but Hiei nodded and left in silence.

Truth was I was a nervous wreck about what was going to happen soon. Who was I kidding? I was likely to get my butt handed to me on a silver platter! I had no right to be entering the Dark Tournament and I knew it! This wasn't good. I was so screwed!

After having a little bit of a breakdown at the training site, I went home and thought over the stuff I would need to have for the tournament. Nothing big but I was going to need some essentials (which I knew would include a hell of a lot of bandages). So I spent the rest of the day composing a list of things I'd need and looking over what I had. The next full day I had before the tournament consisted of getting it all together and cutting out things that I wouldn't need. By sunset I was ready and I sat down on the couch looking up at the ceiling.

"…she'll be working with them," I heard someone say just outside my door before there was a knock. I slowly stood waiting to see if there would be an answer.

"Yeah and just because she knows Yusuke I bet she's in a boatload of trouble," Keiko's voice was the one that replied to the first.

"Botan and Keiko, huh? This should be interesting," I whispered opening to door and standing aside. I looked at them and said, "What can I do for you to?"

"Heyah Rin!" Botan said bouncing into the apartment as Keiko looked at me with a strange look on her face. I closed the door and turned to them as Botan said, "We were just coming to see if you were ready for the big day tomorrow!"

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be to get myself killed," I answered sitting down on the chair across from the couch where Keiko and Botan sat. I looked over Keiko for a moment and said, "Let me guess. Keiko is coming to the tournament to watch Yusuke and know what the bloody idiot is doing. Am I right?"

"Yes," Keiko said stubbornly, "I'm not letting him out of my sight more than I have to. Anyways, we almost got killed from the last mission. It's better to be near him and know what's going on rather than sit around and run if something comes our way!"

"I don't blame you for that mind set, but it sure isn't going to be safe or fun for that matter. If you expect me to worry about anyone else besides myself you've got another thing coming Botan. I can't protect you two if I can't take care of myself and that's what Morte is playing on," I said looking down at my locket as I turned it over in my hands. I rolled my neck until it popped and looked over at the ferry girl saying, "Although I'm not too worried about you two. You've got a wicked swing and Keiko has a wicked backhand. I think you can take care of yourselves."

Botan laughed and Keiko couldn't help but smile. Soon Botan returned to her normal bouncy self and said, "We're just making sure you know what time you have to be ready and where you have to go. Also I need to make sure you have the right things packed."

"Yeah I know all the details. Go ahead and look over what I've got packed. It's good to have a second pair of eyes to help me out," I answered as Botan stood up.

The rest of the night passed with them keeping me company until they had to leave and I had to get some rest. I fell asleep faster than I had thought I would and jumped when the alarm clock suddenly went off. Completely anxious about what was going to happen, I got myself ready and took some time to meditate before leaving. I managed to get myself almost completely calm before I headed out to the meeting site. I slinked quietly through the trees and stopped at the spot without anyone seeing me. I scurried up a tree and sat down on a branch waiting for the others to show up.

It didn't take long before I heard Kuwabara growling at Yusuke for being late. I looked over my shoulder and saw all of them standing around. Hiei was staring intently at Yusuke and he suddenly initiated a swordfight to see Yusuke's skills. I watched in complete awe as they moved so quickly that it made me dizzy to watch. The almost blurred movements of Hiei's sword with so interesting to watch that I barely even thought of Yusuke who was dodging them all and I didn't until Hiei's sword was stopped by Yusuke's hand.

So then Yusuke introduced their fifth member and it was decided that Hiei and Yusuke would pick up any slack that was there. I smiled at the fact that those two were so dead set on the fighting. They were definitely the two that I would absolutely hate to be put against. Kurama, Kuwabara, and Genkai were formidable opponents as well but their cases were different. Hiei and Yusuke were the kind of fighters that sent chills down my spine, but then it also made me feel better because even if they wouldn't admit it, they would watch out for their fellow comrades. I smiled.

It was then that they noticed they were still one member short.

"Has anyone seen, Rin? She should've come by now," Kurama said looking around curiously. He met Hiei's eyes for a moment and Hiei looked off to the side. I smiled and locked my knees around the tree branch I was sitting on. I allowed myself to fall backwards and hung there upside down with one of my chakram in my hand. I aimed it at Hiei's shoulder and waited for my body to stop swinging. The second it did I launched my weapon at him with all the strength I could pull together and listened to it whistle as it cut through the air. Hiei brought his hand up in a flash and caught the chakram right where my hand always was when I threw it. He spun his hand around and sent it soaring right back to me. I unlocked my knees and flipped over catching it and kept my bag right by my side. My feet touched the ground softly and I spun so I was facing the group.

"What's up guys?" I smiled putting my weapon back on my hip. A few snickers from Yusuke and Kuwabara greeted me while Hiei sniffed in annoyance. Kurama gave me a proper greeting while the 'masked fighter' stared at me. A devious smirk curled my lips and I looked at her saying, _"Come on now, Genkai. Don't give me that look."_

"_Don't get cocky and keep your mouth shut. None of them know and let's keep it that way," _Genkai answered calmly to me. I shrugged and looked back to the others.

"I was beginning to wonder if you just wouldn't show," Hiei said looking back over at the boat instead of me.

"Why would I punk out now? After all, I went through two months of training straight from hell. There's no way I'd let that happen and then not show up," I answered calmly as we turned to look at the boat, "A certain slave-driver trainer wouldn't have let me live it down either."

Kurama looked over at me and said, "You have seemed to have gotten a bit stronger. You'll be a more formidable opponent than you have before."

"Nothing compared to you guys though. Anyway, let the games begin!" I said as we all turned and boarded the boat. We all moved over to the side and Yusuke leaned against the railing. I sat down on the railing and calmly looked over the ship with the rest of the group. They all were so absorbed in the demons around them that none of them, save maybe Genkai, saw Yusuke begin nodding off except me. I watched him carefully and noticed that he became a lot more relaxed than he had previously been. I smirked and turned my attention to the pirate-looking dude as he began his announcement of the preliminaries. I watched curiously as the ring rose out of the ship and demons began jumping onto it.

"Hey, Urameshi! Here's your chance to show your new stuff!" Kuwabara said confidently as he looked back at his friend. He nearly freaked when he saw Yusuke asleep and everyone else seemed caught off guard. Hiei and Kurama glanced over at me with looks of annoyance and surprise, but I merely smiled as Genkai began making her way towards the ring for us.

"Kick some ass!" I shouted to her causing the rest of our group to look.

"Guess that's settled. He's going. At least we'll get to see what he can do," Hiei said in monotone as his eyes narrowed on Genkai.

"_It's surprising how they automatically assume you're a guy. You think by the air you have around you that at least Yusuke or Kuwabara would notice,"_ I said as Genkai took her place among the demons.

"_Those blockheads are lucky they even found the boat. Let them think what they like. It doesn't change anything,"_ Genkai answered as all the demons moved to pounce on her.

"I knew it! They're gaining up on him!" Kuwabara shouted in outrage.

"No room to run! He'll be smashed flat!" Kurama stated in surprise. There was no doubt he was thinking about how they were going to lose a member when the tournament hadn't even started yet. I smiled as I kicked my feet and waited for Genkai to hit them all back without even touching them. It was an easy win.

"And now comes the fun part," I placed my feet against the railing and angled myself carefully. I made sure my chakram were easily accessed and calmly waited for the rebellion amongst the demons. It didn't take long at all and they all leapt at us in pure anger than mere humans and demon traitors would stand against them and win.

Hiei and Kurama leapt into action quickly dispatching of their enemies so swiftly that I almost didn't see what happened. I leapt into the air to meet the demons that came at me and pulled my chakram out. I rotated in the air sliced the ones I could around me before throwing some flames around me to roast the others. I jumped off the back of one of the demons and blocked the strong punch that the last demon threw at me without me seeing. The force flipped me backwards and I wrapped my hands around the railing. Without missing a beat, I spun on the railing and landed with both of my feet placed on his shoulder blades. I smiled at him and said, "Hope you have a nice swim."

With that I pushed off with everything I had and sent him headfirst into the water. I landed on the ring and watched as Yusuke beat the sorry excuses for demons in his sleep. I laughed slightly before bringing out my chakram to fight off some remaining demons. I made sure that I kept myself from standing in one place for too long and was always spinning so I could see my opponents from all sides. It took some hits in the arms for me to get the timing just right, but once I had it down none of the demons could land a hit on me. I back flipped into the air and called forth a small current of lightning to my hands. I closed my eyes for a moment and threw the lightning down into the ring causing it to shock all the demons' nervous systems. They began to collapse on the ground, but I threw my chakram to finish them all off before landing among them. I looked down at my hand for a moment and saw that the lightning just lightly shocked the nerves in my hand. They quickly returned back to normal and I looked over at the others who had just finished off their enemies like I had.

Hiei and Kurama were the only ones who seemed to notice that I had used a lightning attack and I could tell they were watching me really carefully. Not wanting to draw anymore attention to myself I put away my chakram and jumped over to where they were at. I smiled and said, "Well, that was a nice little warm up wasn't it?"

"Hardly worth the effort," Hiei sniffed looking at me with a straight face. I looked away and felt a slight blush hit my face. He didn't have to keep rubbing it in that I wasn't anywhere near as strong as them……jerk.

"_You are aware I heard that, aren't you?"_

"Well, I'm going to the front of the boat for the rest of the ride since we took out the others. Bye," I quickly said retreating away from the group. I moved away from the others and stopped at the very front part of the boat. I sat down on the railing and looked down at my hand in thought. Apparently I could use lightning without it hurting me, but if I used it at length or something happened to me, my hands would be rendered useless for only god knows how long. I sighed and opened and closed my fist experimentally. It was kind of like playing Russian roulette. You may have gotten lucky the first time, but there was a lot more danger the longer you played.

"Lightning attacks, huh?" a voice behind me said carefully being sure not to scare me. I looked back curiously and saw Genkai standing there with her arms behind her back. I blinked for a moment and then moved so I was standing in front of her. She looked me over for a moment before saying, "You could be able to use lightning easier if you learned how to control the nerves in your arms and body. Lightning is a naturally dangerous element and control over it takes discipline. Of course training with that sword wielding demon takes discipline as well."

"No that just takes the ability to get over being in pain. Hehe," I laughed as I looked over my hand in thought.

"It's the same difference. You have to understand that you should either navigate the lightning around your nerves or you should temporarily shut them down and trust your demon energy to guide the attack through."

"Come on now, Genkai. The chances are I'll be killed in this tournament before I can do that," I sighed shaking my head. I looked at her for a moment and then flashed to the scenes I remembered in the anime and manga. Images of Genkai lying on the ground bloody and unmoving flashed through my head and I froze completely. I was going to be there when she actually was killed. Sure she was going to be brought back, but it was the principle of it all! I swayed on my feet slightly and leaned against the railing for support.

"You don't have to worry about that. I already know," Genkai said as she walked closer to me so there was a smaller chance of us being overheard, "This is the final battle for me. That's another reason you should keep quiet. Now, I'll teach you everything I can about controlling your lightning before that happens. Just don't expect me to ignore the sleeping idiot that we have to call our team captain."

"Thanks, Genkai……" I looked at her gratefully and sat down against the railing for a moment. I closed my eyes and said, "What…if I said I……I might know when "it" happens?"

Genkai was silent for a moment and then sat down beside me to look up at the sky, "I wouldn't say a thing. I don't want to know anymore about it that necessary and I don't feel the urge to put you on the spot to tell me something that cause your mind distress. I'm old, Rin. Things happen and we have to just accept them. Never try to fight the natural order of things unless it's to prove something you'll die for."

"You're one of the wisest women I know. I'll hold you to all of that," I sighed looking up at the sky. I smiled slightly and thought about how much Genkai did seem to guide me. Maybe, just maybe, she might be someone else I could look up to…and maybe she could help me change who I was into someone even better. After sitting in silence for a while, I decided it was time that I should say something just to lighten the mood. So I looked at Genkai and said, "I have a question. Is it hard to breathe with that cloth wrapped all around your face? I mean I'd probably die."

"……that is one of the stupidest questions you have ever asked," Genkai said with a look that matched what she said. I laughed and I swear I could've heard Genkai offer some sign of amusement at the comment. I looked back up to the sky and was kind of surprised when Genkai whispered, "We've just gained an audience."

"How many?"

"All three of them. They're watching from different points, but they can hear us if we talk normally. Whispering is lost on them."

"Hardly fair. Your mouth is covered. I have to watch myself," I said trying not to move my mouth at all. I shook my head and stood up once again to look out over the water. I stared out at it for a moment and said loud enough for all of them to hear, "I know that there's a snowball's chance in hell that I'll be able to stand up to any of the demons we fight, but I won't hold you guys back. I'll do whatever I can to keep up."

"Just don't get yourself caught up in something you _know_ you won't win. We might just let you die," Genkai answered as I swore I heard a smile hit her face.

"If that's the case then I'll just die then," I laughed knowing that it was a stupid thing to do. Death was just as real here as it was in my world. There was no reason to laugh at it and I should've been slapped on the spot, but instead I looked out and saw that we had come close to Hangman Island. Kurama and Hiei calmly walked up as Kuwabara came up carrying Yusuke. He set him down on the ground and all of us conscious looked out at the island. I suddenly got the feeling that someone was watching me and I pointed my and out at the island like it was a gun. I stared calmly ahead and said, "I'm coming Morte and I'm not going to be kicked around. Prepare to loose!"

It was then something in my head snapped and my entire body gave a jolt as if I was shocked. Then it all shut down and I felt my back slam against the ground before blacking out.

-------------

"Just had to make it dramatic didn't you?"

"Of course. Your comrades are all huddled around you in worry. You're such a burden to them, aren't you? Can't even stand against your own enemy."

"Shut up Morte! I'm not letting you beat me anymore and I refuse to become another burden for them to bear! You're not winning this one! Not if I have anything to say about it."

"…you have gotten stronger. You're recovering from the jolt a lot quicker than I had anticipated. I'll deliver the message now then. You're going to be facing my special forces in the ring. I hope you provide us some entertainment. I brought them all out just for you."

"Go to hell!"

"Ha! We'll see if you're still talking like that when you get in the ring."

"SHUT UP!"

------------

"Damn…why can't I stand her attacks?" I muttered darkly bring my hand up to hold my head. I heard a few sighs of relief and I opened my eyes to see that Kurama and Kuwabara were over me while Genkai and Hiei were close, but giving me room to breathe. I sat up and rubbed my neck saying, "Well, alright then. Something tells me she didn't like what I had to say. I better watch myself or all that training I did will end up being for nothing."

"What did she say to you?" Kurama asked curiously as he helped me stand up.

"Oh nothing new. She told me I was going to basically die and that I was facing off against demons she handpicked for me. So, that means all my matches are determined ahead of time. Some fun."

"Overconfidence will be one's downfall," Genkai said looking back at the island.

"Yeah…but knowing my luck she'll manage to escape that fate," I said crossing my arms slightly and stared at the water around the boat. It wasn't going to be long until we landed and I knew right off the bat that things were going to be pretty rough.

Then again…that's what made me excited about it all.

-------------

The boat landed soon after that little episode and I noticed that we were looked at as new meat when we were making our way to the place we'd be staying. I kept my eyes wide open and managed to catch sight of some of the opponents that were fought in the manga and anime. I did not, however, see any of Morte's handpicked minions. That was a bit of a relief to me. One less thing to worry about…for now.

My mind went into autopilot as we moved off to our room and served something to drink. I was standing by the window after getting my drink and carefully watched the doorway. It wasn't really fair to the others that I knew what was going to happen, but I sure as heck didn't want to be caught off guard. Despite my efforts I still was. I blinked for a moment and allowed myself to look away while I gave a small yawn. When I turned back the cup was gone and Rinku was sitting on the mantle enjoying himself as he watched us. My heart seemed to flip in my chest and I turned to doorway to see Zeru standing there as well. Both of them seemed to notice that I saw them and they looked at me causing me to look down at my drink.

Damn. They're too fast for me. This can't mean anything good for me at all.

"Odd…there's a cup missing," Kurama's voice snapped me back to reality and I looked over at Kuwabara telling us that he hadn't taken his. It was then that Rinku decided to loudly slurp the drink and alert us that he was there. Tension instantly hit the room and my comrades began wondering how he got into the room.

"Allow me to introduce myself. Rinku, team special ops. My crew, the Jolly Devil Six, will be your opponents in the first round tomorrow," Rinku said taking his hat off to us. I cocked my head to the side slightly and looked over the kid. I could easily sense he was pretty strong and that he didn't mean any harm to us at all. In fact, the only thing I felt was playful intentions. He reminded me greatly of the kids back home I'd baby-sit and I knew there was something about him that made him ok in my book after he wasn't our enemy.

"Jolly Devil Six? Isn't it only five to a team? Not counting the honorary fighters?"

Rinku then proceeded to make Kuwabara, along with the rest of us, look clearly idiotic and told us that he could've beaten all of us in an elimination match. I couldn't help but let a laugh escape me and he looked over at me curiously, "Are you saying you could beat me?"

"No, not at all," I sighed shaking my head slightly. I locked my eyes with his and let them narrow slightly saying, "I'm just saying you and every other demon have underestimated a certain element of my comrades that will bring some pain later. If you don't believe me now you'll see it in the ring. Hopefully, it'll become clear to everyone that we don't plan on losing."

Rinku's face soured for a moment before turning to a smirk and he looked over me for a moment. He began to say something, but Zeru cut him off. Everyone freaked even more and after a few words the two left. I tightened my grip on my cup so much that it shattered in my hands and I silently cleaned it up. Kuwabara seemed shaken by what happened while the other two demons of our group seemed on high alert. Genkai was calm and I moved off to my room saying goodnight to them. Once I was completely alone I sat down on the bed and struggled to calm myself as much as I could. There was only one thing I could do now.

And that was not to lose my match tomorrow when it came.

With that thought in my head, I laid down on the bed and fell into an uneasy sleep. I could only wait for the morning to come and the fights to begin.

-------------

_**ME:**_** Well, there's another chapter. Sorry I haven't updated for a while. I feel like a very bad authoress. I'll try to update more often.**

_**Hiei:**_** Something tells me that you're going to be a very happy person when you can start typing out the actual fight scenes in the Dark Tournament.**

_**ME:**_** Of course! I'm going to have so much fun! VIOLENCE! (Watching some people inch away from me) Oh come on! You all know you love it! Fine. I guess my violent nature is better put of toward Resident Evil.**

_**Hiei:**_** Since when have you liked Resident Evil? Last I checked you were on Tales of the Abyss! And what happened the .hack//GU games?**

_**ME:**_** ……I like it. Deal with it, but trust me. Yu-Yu Hakusho will ALWAYS come first to me. I swear on that! Trinity Blood takes a strong second with .hack lining up at third. Hee hee! Okie dokie people! Please review!**


	11. Two Fights Down

_**ME:**_** n.n Hiyah people! I'm so happy that we've finally entered the dark tournament! Fun, fun, fun! Now we get to see how I'll get through this myself and maybe make it through in one piece!**

_**Hiei:**_** I've said it once before and I will say it again. You're a strange onna, you know that?**

_**ME:**_** Quite frankly I see strangeness as a gift. Before I was always too serious and didn't know when to have some fun. No wonder why I always had non-stop headaches and stuff. I stressed myself out more than I ever needed to. So now I'm hanging back and laughing at what I used to do. Sure it bugs some people, but I officially get some relief that I need.**

_**Hiei:**_** That was a surprisingly normal answer coming from you.**

_**ME:**_** You didn't let me finish. And besides, if I can't really be sucked into this fantastic world you call your home I might as well right about it happening!**

_**Hiei:**_** (Sweatdrop) You're not right in the head. You need some help.**

_**ME:**_** No I don't! I'm absolutely fine! Anyway, let's get on with this new chapter!**

_**Hiei:**_** The authoress would like to point out that she doesn't own Yu-Yu Hakusho but she does own a very strong obsession of it……**

_**ME:**_** Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've cleared that out with the When You're Obsessed fic ok. So anyway let's start a new chapter! Let the violence begin!**

**--------------**

_This is an unrelated fact that I've learned about myself that causes me to fall into a constant fit of giggles at inappropriate times. As I'm writing this fic, I can actually recite some of the character's lines word-for-word without even looking at the manga for help…This just goes to show how obsessed I really am. Lol._

_And another thing that readers should know. The next update won't be as fast as this one and for that I apologize. I got this done in school and was really excited about getting this posted because of the violence! Yayz. But some things have come up in school and I have things to do. So, I'll update as soon as I can! Review and tell me what you think!_

_-------------_

_**Chapter 11: Two Fights Down**_

The morning came rather suddenly and I literally fell out of my bed when I heard Genkai knocking on my door. I leapt off the floor and silently flung open the door to allow her in. The fighting master closed the door behind her and she moved over to the window as I quickly pulled some clothes together for the fight. I pulled on some breathable jeans and a tank top that had a dragon spiraling around it. I quickly pulled my hair back out of my face and hid my locket away between some of the cloths in my bag. I smiled happily and clipped my chakram on my hips.

"You're aware that you may not be strong enough to face some of the demons on your own. You have grown stronger since we last met, but there's something sealing your demonic powers away. Are you sure you want to go into a battle with such a handicap?" Genkai asked looking back at me curiously. Her eyes were slightly suspicious as she looked at me, but I only just smiled in return.

"I know it doesn't seem very smart on my part, but I have a plan. Hopefully it works the way I want it to," I said looking at her with the smile.

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then I make a new plan on the spot."

Genkai heaved a heavy sigh. She looked at me and said, "You've spent way too much time with Yusuke and Kuwabara. Spend some time with Kurama and let his strategic nature rub off on you."

"What's the fun in that? And besides sometimes you need to just let the adrenaline flow through you and see where it goes. Strategies are all well and good, but what happens when you follow it through to a point and it all goes down the drain? You don't step back and create a new one. You try to wing it and make it look like you had it all planned out."

Genkai sighed yet again and said, "You don't like to lose a fight do you? Whether its words, fists, or otherwise."

"No, I don't. Enough talk though. We should really be getting ready to fight," I said putting everything back neatly on the bed and stretching my legs out. For some odd reason I had this feeling that I was going to be using them a lot to run around the ring as attacks lined the ground around me. It was just a thought…and despite how funny it might be to others, I wasn't exactly looking forward to it.

"I'll go wake the last two members…well, one of them anyway," Genkai said turning to leave the room.

"I'll be waiting outside the building for you guys, alright?" I straightened up and walked over to the window to look out across the trees.

"Do as you wish," was the reply before I heard the door shut behind her. I smiled slightly and jumped out the window towards the trees nearby. I grabbed one of their branches and spun on it for a moment before letting go to another tree. I landed softly near the very top and jumped down again to bounce through some of the branches. I brought one of my chakram out and launched it into the tress to cut some of the branches. I struggled to control the path of my chakram with my demonic energy and still watch carefully where my feet were landing. It was difficult at first to keep concentrating on my chakram and manage to keep my feet hitting the branches at the right angle, but my mind soon became accustomed to the split concentration. I then experimented with moving faster and trying to make the chakram do certain movements that needed more control. It was slow progress, but I soon felt like I would be able to move on to controlling both of my chakram soon.

Well, that's what I thought until a branch suddenly moved a way that was completely unnatural unless someone was moving it themselves. I slipped down a few feet and snagged a branch to keep my body in the trees. My chakram buried itself deep in the trunk of the tree I was resting in and I looked to see Kurama and Hiei both standing calmly on a tree branch in front of me. I blinked in surprise for a moment before saying, "Uh…hi?"

"It's been a while since I've seen you in action and I thought this would be a nice time right before we entered the fights," Kurama said causing some of the tree branches I had cut to grow back all around. I slowly stood on the branch and pulled my chakram from the tree trunk as Hiei got in his two bits.

"I want to see if you have the ability to make good on the vow you took on the boat."

"So in other words you two want to "fight" me before the tournament begins," I said using air quotes for emphasis on the fight. Both of them nodded and I shrugged, "Sounds good to me. I really don't want to bring you down and this should help me out."

With that I leapt back into the branches and threw the chakram as far away from me as I possibly could. Hiei disappeared after the chakram and Kurama leapt back as he caused the tree limbs to move and snap in unnatural ways. I bounced across the possessed tree branches and struggled to keep my chakram from hitting any of them while Hiei would appear out of thin air and hit it with his sword that it would veer off on a new course. Both Hiei and I worked to keep our speed up while Kurama made the branches move in an attempt to knock us out of the air and I did my best to keep my chakram weaving through the branches. This became a lot more difficult as Hiei picked up his own speed and Kurama worked harder to make me trip up. I bit down on my lip in concentration and tried to regulate my breathing so I wouldn't get tired so easily. It finally seemed that Hiei and Kurama would manage to knock me clean out of the trees, but I was saved by the sound of Kuwabara growling about Yusuke not waking up. Hiei hit my chakram straight into my hands and I clipped it to my hip as I allowed my body to fall backwards off a tree branch. I flipped in the air and landed calmly at the very base of the tree. I leaned against the trunk and Kurama likewise leaned against the tree directly across from me. Hiei went onto the other side of the tree trunk I was leaning against and crossed his arms. The three of us settled into calm positions just as Genkai and Kuwabara walked out of the building with a sleeping Yusuke leaning against him.

"Wow. You three are ready pretty quick," Kuwabara said looking at us with a slightly nervous face.

"We all prepare for things differently," I said slightly shrugging as I straightened up. I looked at him and said, "Hey, Kuwabara. You've got my back if I need it, right?"

Kuwabara seemed stunned for a second at me asking that, he nodded vigorously and held on hand up to me with his thumb up, "You bet! I'll back you up all the way!"

I returned the gesture with a smile and said, "Thanks."

"_You trust a mere human to have your back? I doubt the wisdom of that choice," _Hiei muttered telepathically as we began to make our way to the arena.

"_Remember that those two 'mere humans' saved your sister. I wouldn't be so quick to doubt them if I were you,"_ I replied as I put my hands in my pockets with my eyes glued to the ground.

"_Hn,"_ was the response Hiei gave as he dropped the connection. I sighed and continued to stare at the ground in thought. Morte said that there were her hand picked minions in the teams we'd be fighting. Did that mean that the story line was going to be thrown off at the add-in fights? Or did it just mean that they were accommodating the extra among the guest team? It had me a little worried that they actually required a sixth member for all the teams instead of using them as an alternate. That also made me think about if there was a seventh that could be used if one of the team members died. It didn't matter much in that spot though because we'd have an alternate, but at the same time what happened if it all was screwed up now just because of me being there? I bit down harder on my lip and balled my hands in my pockets. This wasn't going to end well in anyway shape or form and all because I was there when I should've been back at home doing something with my friends or family.

"Holy crap. That's a big building," Kuwabara stuttered staring up at the huge arena before us. I also looked up at it and swallowed slightly. That sure could hold a lot of demons screaming and shouting things that would involve a violent death. I felt some of the color drain from my face and my heart began racing uncontrollably. Fear began welling up in my throat and was going to explode until Kurama set his hand on my shoulder reassuringly. I looked back at him for a moment and he nodded at me. A long withheld breath escaped through my teeth and a small wave of calm washed over my body. Walking with a confidence I truly didn't feel, I went forward with my comrades and we entered the fighting arena.

My ears instantly were bombarded with roars from the crowd and began to pound as Koto announced into her microphone, "Morning, everyone! You ready for some unholy mayhem?! Let's welcome our first teams of contenders! I declare the Dark Tournament officially underway!"

Roars of pleasure broke out among the crowd and my ears seemed to catch every single rant that the demons shouted about wanting blood and gore. We walked out in front of the crowd and I felt the vibrations of all the roars shake my entire body. It was then that the Jolly Devil Six stepped out and Koto began announcing our entrances, "It's the Jolly Devil Six-scrappy stars of the slums!!"

Koto paused to allow some shouts and roars from the crowd to be heard before turning to us and shouting, "The "guests" have arrived!"

Roars of anger shouted out against Kurama and Hiei while there was a quiet undertone that didn't involve Kuwabara, Yusuke, or Genkai. I sharpened my ears as much as I possibly could and heard there was a slight whisper about who I was. All the demons seemed surprised that I was standing there among the fighters and my name wasn't known to any of them at all. I remained silent and stared out blankly at the arena. It was then that I heard Kurama say in a tone that I couldn't help but smile at, "Calling us traitors? If they weren't such lowlifes, I'd take offense."

"Teams to the center please!" Koto called as we all stepped onto the ring. My eyes instantly began scoping out how large the ring was and how far I could run without stepping out or falling out. It was reasonably sized and unless my opponents had numerous wide-range attacks, I could safely say I could rely on my dodging skills. Then I slowly looked over the team and stopped upon seeing one opponent that was clearly out of place.

It was a demoness standing right behind Zeru that caught my eye and apparently I caught hers. She had long beautiful black hair that was pulled back into a braid with a few strands swaying right in front of her hazel eyes. Her form was very elegant but it was clear by the way that she held herself that was a formidable opponent. She wore a black oriental fighting dress with white/beige leggings underneath. What seemed really strange about her was the fact that she had a flute hanging around her waist and swaying by her side. She seemed girlish and dainty, but that didn't fool me. Something told me that fighting her was going to be a complete bitch.

"Well, since we've decided how we'll fight, let's decide who fights first. None of us have seen our honorary fighter's skills and it seems that your fighter is ready for a fight. Let's let them fight first? Deal?" Zeru said looking at Kuwabara and the others for a moment.

"Deal," I said before any of them could answer him. The Jolly Devil Six took their leave of the ring and so did team Urameshi. I stood calmly staring at my opponent as she began humming in the back of her throat.

"Alright. In one-on-one the rules are anything goes. A count of ten will determine out-of-bounds and knockdowns. Do you two understand the rules?" Koto asked looking at us curiously. We both nodded wordlessly and she stepped back, "Ok. Match one…BEGIN!"

"So will I have the honor of knowing the name of my opponent?" I asked calmly shifting into my fighting stance. My hands unlocked the chakram from my hips and I allowed the adrenaline to surge through my entire body.

"My real name is nothing of importance, but you may call me Siren," she giggled in a voice that made my stomach turn. It was the voice of a perfect little doll that always made me want to gag whenever I saw one. It didn't take long for me to realize that her name wasn't just a name. It was telling what her powers were. I calmly brought my weapons in front of me and she giggled, "Don't worry, Rin. We'll have a lot of fun today."

"Do me a favor and just shut up. Your voice is making me want to tear my ears off," I growled running at her. She stopped giggling and leapt into the air just as my chakram would've made contact with her arm. I turned around to look up at her as she was pulling something out of the hem of her dress. I saw a flash of silver and I dodged to the side as a long thin knife came soaring my way. The blade bounced of the side of my shoe and went skidding across the ring as I flipped to land a safe ways away.

"Oooo, you're pretty fast," she laughed landing a few yards away from me. She smiled and calmly pulled her flute off of her waist. She brought it up to her mouth and said, "Let's get serious, ok?"

She brought the flute all the way to her mouth and began playing a soft tune that froze my complete body. I tried to move my hands, no part of my body would respond to anything. I did everything I possibly could to get myself moving again, but nothing worked and Siren finished her little tune. She smiled at me and said, "You'll be noticing that you can't even move any part of your body. I'm actually impressed that you're still awake. Oh well."

"Wow, people! Siren played a little tune on her flute and now Rin can't even move! That tune wasn't even meant for me and I'm feeling a little sleepy! I don't know about Rin, but I'd say she's probably having some trouble moving now!" Koto announced as her tail wagged excitedly behind her.

"Damn…why didn't I see…that coming?" I growled trying to move, but once again nothing happened.

"It doesn't matter if you saw it coming or not. All that matters now is that you're a sitting duck," Siren said as she fastened to flute back around her waist. She looked back at me and said, "This is going to be easier than Morte told me it would be."

Siren suddenly disappeared from my sight and I felt something tear into my back. I instantly felt blood pour from my back and the same feeling tore through my right thigh. An image of Siren passed in front of me and a knife suddenly was planted deeply in my left shoulder. Siren was fast and I was stuck in one spot because all the muscles in my body weren't responding to me. How was I supposed to win?

"Siren is showing a fantastic display of speed as she circles Rin and uses her as a pincushion. I was kind of hoping that the first fight would be a little more filled with fighting, but this is pretty good too! I can already smell Rin's blood thickening the air!" Koto shouted as roars from the audience echoed all around us. Shouts of demons wanting to see me dead rang through my ears and I instantly regretted allowing them to let me go first. Why did I have to agree to be the first fight?! How stupid could I be?!

"Ah, the power of music. It can leave one in tears or leave one in a rage. But I love it all the same," Siren said suddenly appearing in front of me and smiling evilly. She then began to use my useless body as a punching bag making sure she delivered each hit as hard as she possibly could. Although my entire body began to ache and feel like it was on fire, I couldn't help but smile. Siren didn't know how much she actually just helped me get out of her little spell. I quickly began thinking about the tune she just played and tried to remember the notes of it. Siren continued to pound on my immobile body and I thought about the entire song. I finally memorized the entire tune and began playing it over and over in my mind. Unfortunately for Siren, she didn't see me move my left hand. Siren stopped her assault and looked at my smile saying, "You're pathetic. You're at my mercy and you're smiling?"

"I'm smiling at your clueless, pathetic nature," I smiled as anger flashed across her face.

She brought her arm back and shouted, "I'm going to break you down here in front of everyone!"

"Or so you think!" I answered throwing one of my chakram behind her and stopping her attack with one free hand. I clipped the other chakram to my hip and slammed my fist into her face so hard that she was sent reeling away from me. I made the chakram come back to me and immediately launched them both at her. In a matter of seconds I heard the satisfying sound of one making contact with her face and the other one making contact with her stomach. Siren was sent sprawling across the ring and I ran forward catching my chakram once again. I tried to attack Siren once again, but she managed to jump up and dodge to the other side of the ring.

"Wow! Rin managed to break the spell and launch a counter attack against Siren. This fight might turn out to be something bloody after all, folks!" Koto shouted as her ears began twitching in excitement.

"I'm impressed. How'd you manage to break the spell?" Siren coughed as she stood wiping her mouth.

"Sure, your songs and tunes are hypnotic, but you didn't take into consideration my love for music. It's pretty rare when a song actually can make me fall asleep or do anything unless I allow it. Although, I will admit that was a pretty strong spell though," I replied pulling some of her knives out of me. I dropped them on the ground and glared at her saying, "I really don't like having things like music used against me."

"It seems that we have two music lovers in the ring today, folks! Hopefully this rivalry will turn into one match that we'll love to see!" Koto shouted as a roar from the audience broke through the sound barrier once again. I calmly clipped one of my chakram back on my hip and held the other one by my side.

"_What are you planning on doing?"_ Hiei asked calmly from the sidelines.

"_She thinks she has me backed into a corner with her control over sound. Which she just might, but her inability to plan things properly will be her undoing. I don't care how many knives she can throw at me. If she doesn't watch them, I'll use them against her. Simple as that,"_ I answered suddenly lunging at her. Siren jumped forward as well pulling a knife from the hem of her dress once again. Our weapons clashed in a miniature rain of sparks and we began pounding against one another's defenses with the intention to tear each other's arms off.

Siren and I quickly saw that a stationary fight wasn't going to do either of us any good and she pushed forward in an attempt to gain some advantage over me. I stepped back with a steady rhythm and kept moving my arm as fast as I possibly could to keep up with Siren's movements. A sudden idea hit me and I slammed my chakram at the side of Siren's hand causing both of our weapons to fly off to the side. Both of us didn't want to take anymore hits from the other at the moment and leapt back, but I pulled my other chakram off my hip. I aimed the weapon carefully and launched it out to slam into my other weapon causing it to slam into the ground of the ring right in the middle of Siren's knives. The knives flew up into the air and I quickly focused all my concentration on pulling my still airborne chakram to the knives. It moved relatively easy and hit the knives causing their own course to be altered and redirect themselves…right into Siren's arms and legs.

Siren let out a cry of pain and fell onto the ground surprised that her own weapons were used against her. I straightened up and quickly grabbed my chakram knowing that she was about to get all kinds of serious and I was going to need all the protection I could get. The crowd went insane and I heard plenty of boos and hisses all directed at Siren since she hadn't killed me yet. I looked around at some of them and sweatdropped slightly muttering, "So nice to know they're all loyal to the end. Not!"

"It's not them you're going to have to worry about!" Siren shouted jumping up and whipping out her flute once again. She glared at me with enraged eyes and shouted, "I'm going to kill you here and now!"

She took a breath and blew into the flute instantly causing my eardrums to feel like they were being torn apart. My grip on my chakram instantly loosened and they clattered on the ground beside me and standing began to get very difficult. I stumbled backwards away from her holding my ears and she only made the sound get louder. I could feel the blood pounding in my head and the inside of my ears felt like they were going to explode at any moment. That was one headache that could only be rivaled with the worst migraine ever had by a human being. Siren made me endure the torturous sound for a few more moments before stopping and bring her hands back towards her. A strange screeching sound came from her hands and before I even had anytime to process what she was doing, I was hit with and attack that sent me flying back with cuts all over my body. I winced in pain and looked up to see Siren right there in front of me ready to deliver the final blow. I instantly felt my heart flip and I was beginning to think it really was the end until my eyes caught something glinting on the ground right by my hand. Without a moment's hesitation, I grabbed it and closed my eyes and I threw it forward.

The sound of a blade entering flesh was heard all around and my entire body erupted in pain as my back slammed on the grass outside of the ring. I coughed slightly and it took me a moment to realize that I didn't have any new stab wounds except for the ones that Siren had inflicted earlier on in the match. So knowing that I was halfway alright, I pushed myself up and got back in the ring just as Koto shouted, "Nine! TEN!"

A roar shook the entire arena and I rubbed the side of my head saying, "If I didn't have a headache before, I sure as hell have one now."

"There you have it folks! The first match of this tournament goes to the guest team as Rin barely pulled a win out of her back pocket. This was definitely a very interesting way to start out this bloodbath people! I'm just itching to see the rest of the guest team!" Koto shouted as I quietly grabbed my chakram and looked over to see Siren's body disappearing in a cloud of shadows. I quickly looked away and got down to go back over to my comrades.

"That officially sucked," I said shaking my head as Kuwabara patted me on the back. I looked at the team and said, "There is no way in hell that I'm going through that again without a little more training."

"You made it through round one. Just keep that in mind," Kurama said trying to reassure me a little, but Hiei couldn't stand there and let that happen.

"If you barely managed to get past round one, what use are you going to be later on? If you can't carry your own weight in this, you might as well just die in the ring," Hiei said causing Kuwabara to glare and Kurama to shake his head at him.

"You're right," I said causing the comment that Kuwabara had coming to die in his throat. I looked at Kuwabara with a smile and said, "Well, go get 'em muscles! Show them whose boss."

"You bet!" Kuwabara said turning to the ring and jumping up to fight Rinku. I moved to stand beside Kurama and looked around to watch the crowd's reaction to Kuwabara. The spectators began shouting their dislike of Kuwabara and roared for Rinku to end up killing him. My face soured for a moment and I looked back at the ring.

"_Does it bother you to hear them shouting things like that?"_ Genkai asked not removing her eyes from the ring where Kuwabara and Rinku were anxiously awaiting Koto's announcement to begin.

I thought about her question for a moment and sighed, _"I guess it really does. I mean, yeah I love a good fight, but I'm not on the same page as all the people watching this."_

"_That's a very human sentiment. That's strange even for a demon to have,"_ Genkai muttered looking at me curiously from the corner of her eye.

'_Well it doesn't really help that I grew up a human now does it?'_ I thought to myself before freezing. Genkai had heard that thought, but she wasn't the only one. Just as I had said that, Hiei's presence entered my mind and heard every word of it. I looked at him from the corner of my eyes and saw that he was looking at me suspiciously. I laughed nervously and turned my attention back to the fight as Rinku began bouncing all around Kuwabara like Hiei had earlier done to Yusuke. Except that Rinku liked to do flips and add a little spice to his moves that made me forget about my current situation between Genkai and Hiei.

"Rinku displays amazing agility! I, Koto, your commentator, can barely follow him!" Koto shouted in complete amazement. I watched calmly and managed to catch sight of Rinku jumping around and flipping all over the place. Thank you, Hiei, for helping me with my speed issues!

Rinku smiled in content and suddenly charged at Kuwabara's back in an attempt to land a hit, but the orange-haired fighter spun around and clobbered him with a hit that sent him flying in one direction and his hat in another. Surprise hit all of the spectators and Rinku's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He couldn't believe that he'd been hit by Kuwabara and when he jumped back up, he ran off to the side hoping to get another hit on Kuwabara, but he kicked him aside like he was absolutely nothing at all.

"Why you-" Rinku began to growl in annoyance as Kuwabara struck a pose for all of us to see. He turned around with a smug smile on his lips and slugged Rinku for another attack that surely made him see a few stars. The crowd began shouting angrily at Rinku and were completely pissed that Kuwabara was making a fool out of him.

"Kuwabara can be surprising. I've sparred with him, and I can tell you he loves to fight," Kurama said calmly watching.

"Great, but what's with all the samurai posturing? He's should've finished this with his Aura Sword by now," Hiei responded looking slightly annoyed.

"Love isn't the word for Kuwabara's feelings toward fighting. As for the posturing…well, let's just say every human likes their time in the spotlight and Kuwabara's just having a little fun," I sighed smiling slightly. It was a shame that Kuwabara would lose this match. It was just annoy that Rinku kept him down with his yo-yos. I would've loved to see how that fight played out and if Kuwabara would've really won it.

Kuwabara landed another insane hit and Rinku actually looked like he would go down for the count pretty soon. I leaned forward slightly to watch Rinku's face as Kuwabara came right over him and Kurama stated, "He's got him! This is it!"

"I ain't into torture, so I'll make it quick! You're goin' down for the count, kid!" Kuwabara shouted as he brought his arm back to land the final punch. A smile cracked across Rinku's face and just as everyone realized that he was gone, Rinku appeared behind Kuwabara with a smug smile.

"Heh…Hope you enjoyed the moment…" Rinku slammed his foot down on the side of Kuwabara's neck and he hit the ground like a ton of bricks. Everyone, including myself, made some kind of noise of surprise and Rinku put his hands behind his head saying, "…'cause the moment's over! Ha ha ha! I coulda popped him right off, but where's the fun in that? Don't bother counting. He's dead. I snapped his neck."

"Little punk thinks he something big, doesn't he?" I muttered as a smile came to my face. Hiei and Genkai looked at me from the corners of their eyes, but I just watched as Kuwabara moved and pushed himself up, holding the side of his head.

"So you say you broke my neck? Then I'll have to return the favor…in spades!" Kuwabara said standing back up and staring seriously at Rinku.

"If there's one thing all these demons are going to be learning soon, it's not to underestimate any of us. Our team seems to do pretty well under pressure and it doesn't take much to get us fired up," I mused looking over at Yusuke in particular who was still fast asleep where Kuwabara put him.

"But how long will our luck continue to last? This is a tournament of skill and some of our members are lacking in that department," Genkai said looking blankly ahead at no one in particular. I shook my head knowing she was right and shut up as Rinku threw out his precious yo-yos. I flinched slightly as they zigzagged around Kuwabara's swords and slammed into his body.

"Hey moron…didya think I was just gonna play around? My aura goes right from my fingers to the yo-yos each of which I control individually," Rinku smiled at us smugly and then brought all of his yo-yos to move around him like snakes saying, "Like so! Your dull ol' Aura Sword won't even cut the strings!"

Kuwabara paled slightly as he watched the yo-yo's cutting through the ring floor and was forced to dodge to the side instead of attacking back against the weapons, but even jumping away didn't do anything for Kuwabara. Rinku effortlessly caused the yo-yos to round back and slammed into his back so forcefully that Kuwabara was forced into a face-plant. I had a hard time controlling even one of my chakram and here I was watching Rinku use a yo-yo for each freaking finger! The skills and talents of our opponents were amazing and I couldn't believe that there was so much that the anime and manga missed when we saw it.

Kuwabara finally got set up to be grabbed by the weapons and I flinched as Rinku played around with him as though he was another toy. Rinku brought him up to a certain height and then slammed him down onto the ring so hard that my own body ached just watching what was happening to Kuwabara. Rinku repeated slamming Kuwabara fast first into the ground and I stared blankly at the blood appearing on Kuwabara's face. He was taking a really bad beating that made me think that I had gotten off easy. I watched in complete surprise, ignoring Hiei's comment to Kurama and Keiko shouting at Yusuke for sleeping, as Rinku brought Kuwabara up as high as I had ever seen him take him. Rinku looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself as he shouted, "Yer dead now human! You'll go splat-like an egg!"

With that Rinku released Kuwabara from the yo-yos' hold and sent him plummeting down towards the ground. I swallowed slightly and felt my stomach flip as Kuwabara used his sword to catch himself from the fall and fling himself at Rinku. The punk smiled smugly and said, "Now your trajectory is sending you straight at me! And the just _begs_ for a salvo of yo-yos right in your face!"

"You forgot! I've got a second sword!" Kuwabara answered throwing his second sword out in front of him to land a potentially painful attack.

"So what? A straight sword's easy to dodge-" I held my breath as they sent their attacks at one another and was in a trance as I watched Kuwabara's sword weave in and out of the yo-yo strings, "It's threading through the yo-yo strings?!"

"Homing on you through 'em, you mean! Just as you control your yo-yos is how Kurama coached me to control my sword-at will!" Kuwabara replied as both weapons landed dead on hits and they each were sent soaring out of the ring. I flinched at the sound they each made when they hit the ground and didn't get back up. I thought about it for a moment and said telepathically to Kurama, "_Pretty kick ass coaching you've given him. You have no idea how much use he'll make out of that."_

"_I hope your right,"_ Kurama answered simply as we stared at the fighters outside the ring.

"Both opponents are out of bounds!! The count begins on each-now!" Koto shouted raising her hand high over her head, "One! Two!"

She suddenly froze as Rinku's hand grabbed the side of the ring and pulled himself halfway up on the ring. He jumped onto the ring and Koto continued the count for Kuwabara who still didn't seem to be moving at all. Shouts for Rinku echoed all through the arena and Rinku pressed his hands to his wound saying, "Didn't figure I'd have this much trouble. Gotta focus my aura on patching myself up."

It was then that Kuwabara decided to force himself up and stare determinedly at the ring. Rinku about freaked out and got a nervous sweat on the side of his face as he said, "Yipes! The human's up, too! What's he made of?!"

"Hehe. Something you sure as hell weren't ready for you blasted little cheater," I muttered as he tightened his yo-yo's hold over Kuwabara causing him to miss the final chance he had to beat the count. Rinku released the yo-yos and Kuwabara jumped up glaring at Rinku.

"Who cares?! I can still fight!!" Kuwabara shouted as Rinku stepped back slightly with a slight concerned look on his face.

"He's quite the master, that one. Controls his yo-yos without being tied to them," Kurama said watching the winning fighter on the ring.

"Hmph…and by the rules, we lose," Hiei muttered slightly annoyed by the fact. I shook my head at Hiei and walked over to Kuwabara who was pointing angrily at Rinku.

"Hey you! We'll settle this later!!" Kuwabara shouted as I came up to his side. Rinku showed his disagreement and I tossed his yo-yos to the ground.

"Don't worry about it, Kuwabara. You'll have a chance to show these guys what you're really made off. This was a bit of an unfair fight and using those yo-yos gave him a clear advantage. Don't sweat the loss," I tried to calm him down, Kuwabara was slightly beside himself in anger that he had lost the fight.

"I still can fight and they wanna call it a loss? What kind of tournament is this? Don't they wanna see some real action?!" Kuwabara growled as we made our way back over to the rest of the team.

"Yeah, they definitely want some action, but they don't want it from our team. You and Yusuke are humans, Hiei and Kurama are known as traitors, and I honestly don't think they give a damn one way or another about me and the masked fighter. They only want to see demons tearing into one another in an area where they can't be challenged," I answered as we stood beside Kurama, Hiei, and Genkai. Hiei for once ignored the chance to say something smart to Kuwabara and we turned our attention to Koto who was announcing for the next fighters to enter the ring.

"I think I'll take the next one," Kurama said as he moved forward to take his place in the ring. I smiled and crossed my arms at the memory of what was going to happen to this idiot who thought he could beat Kurama with cheap trickery.

"This is going to be fun to watch," I whispered quietly as Roto and Kurama began their face off.

-------------

_**ME:**_** Well, that's the first two matches of the first round of the Dark Tournament! I hope you enjoyed. I've just notice how short some of the fights are until later on and that kind of makes me depressed. I don't want to write the Dark Tournament in a few chapters!**

_**Hiei:**_** …you have violence issues don't you?**

_**ME:**_** Hey, hey, hey. They're not issues. This is a way for me to vent my frustration. Videogames can only do so much and when I actually have the chance to write how the action actually goes…you can bet I'm going to do everything I can to have some fun!**

_**Hiei:**_** Just don't let the quality of your writing suffer because you're having fun. Otherwise you'll lose those readers and reviewers that you value so highly.**

_**ME:**_** …Hiei you're so unfair! Using my fears against me! You meanie!**

_**Hiei:**_** It is my job as your muse to give you a harsh hit back to reality when I feel that you need it.**

_**ME:**_** (muttering darkly) which is about every other chapter or so.**

_**Hiei:**_** (hits me in the back of the head with the sheath of his katana) If you weren't always losing your train of thought I wouldn't have to do that!**

_**ME:**_** Waaaa! Hiei stop being mean!**

_**Hiei:**_** Stop acting like a child.**

_**ME:**_** (annoyed squiggly) Fine. I'll stop acting like a child. Anyway, people please review! I had fun writing the fight scenes, but I think I can get better! Tell me in a review what you think! Please!**


	12. LowLives and Flames and Drunkards Oh my

_**ME:**_** Hehe. Violence is s much fun and it seems that I got a good reaction from the readers about the last chapter. So, I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with this tournament and I'm going to go into really good (but not overbearing) detail with the shorter fights. Just for the fun of it!**

_**Hiei:**_** I'm beginning to wonder if you like the sound of your own voice. You open all of your chapters with a long opening statement.**

_**ME:**_** Is there something wrong with talking to the readers?**

_**Hiei:**_** No, but you tend to ramble and fall from the original subject a little too easily.**

_**ME:**_** Damn it. I hate it when you're right. Anyway, I know these extra people in the tournament may not be as well received as some of my other ideas, but I will try to have them cause as little trouble with the storyline as possible. I'm working ahead of myself a bit to create baddies that won't screw the storyline and I've actually gotten pretty far at the moment. Hopefully this will be just fine and add a little more violence that the readers seem to love!**

_**Hiei:**_** You did get a lot of people applauding the violence in your reviews of the last chapter.**

_**ME:**_** Yep! n.n Oh and someone called you "a little fire pixy snooping through people's minds." Heh. That was pretty good.**

_**Hiei:**_** I don't see the interest of attacking my height relentlessly.**

_**ME:**_** Yeah, I did notice that everyone kept throwing shots at your height during the Dark Tournament……what's up with that? Oh well, I'm sorry for that and I'll try not to add any more than there already are. Anyway enough delay! I don't own anything but my characters! Chapter start!**

**--**

_Ok. Fanfiction is getting on my nerves at the moment. They keep screwing the dang story stuff up and I'm tired of trying to fix it. So earlier chapters will stay the freaking same, but from now on I'll try to make stuff easier to read. I apologize for any confusion. Sorry_

_--_

_**Chapter 12: Low-Lives And Flames and Drunkards, Oh my!**_

"I think I'll take the next one," Kurama said as he moved forward to take his place in the ring. I smiled and crossed my arms at the memory of what was going to happen to this idiot who thought he could beat Kurama with cheap trickery. Normally, I had to admit that some trickery was pretty well played, but what was going to happen here was just flat out pathetic.

"This is going to be fun to watch," I whispered quietly as Roto and Kurama began their face off.

Roto looked over at Kurama as he stood in front of him and said with a cocky tone of voice, "Rinku's a sharp but honest fighter. Not me. I prefer the easy way." The more dangerous way was more along those lines in my opinion. Especially since he was going against Kurama. If I didn't know what he was going to do to Kurama's mother, I would've felt sorry for him because his opponent was far beyond his league.

"Kurama," Hiei said causing the red-haired kitsune to look back at him with a confident face, "Don't pull any punches out there. They gotta think twice about fighting us again."

"I know," was the calm reply that Kurama gave us as he turned to face Roto.

"Hey…somethin' I've been wonderin'…where does Kurama keep his Rose Whip?" Kuwabara asked looking at us curiously.

It was silent for a moment and everyone expected Hiei to answer him, but the apparition was still giving me a steady side-glare full of suspicion about what I had said earlier. Finally, Hiei took his piercing side-glare off of me and replied, "In a simple rosebud. In his hands, any plant's a weapon. He can turn a weed along the street into a razor-sharp blade stronger than steel."

"Personally, that's a force I wouldn't want to go against. There are plants almost anywhere at any give time. He could attack you and you wouldn't be able to tell which plant he used to do it," I mused shaking my head as Koto announced that the second match was to begin.

"I hear you live with a human. Hard for me to figure. You got the "family" thing goin' there?" Roto sneered at Kurama who just remained silent. I balled my fist in anger and bit down on my lip. There was absolutely nothing wrong with having a family that you loved dearly and would do anything for! If there was one thing that I'd never agree with demons about, it was the view they had on families and feelings such as love. Maybe it was because I had just become a demon by being thrown into this world, but not loving my family was something that I couldn't even begin to imagine. Love wasn't weakness! When were they going to learn this?! I stayed completely silent as Roto brought out his weapon on his arm and lunged at Kurama saying, "You'd be sad if this human died, eh?!"

"A weasel with a sickle," Kurama muttered as he dodged Roto's attacks with the slightest effort imaginable. I stared in awe as Kurama made a complete fool out of Roto and dodged through the attacks like it was a mere walk in the park. The skill level between the two was perfectly clear and Roto was looking stupid compared to Kurama in the fight. Kurama suddenly dodged to the side and made it all the way behind Roto without anyone noticing. He brought his hand back to land the final hit on Roto and said, "You're adequate, but little else. I'll end this quickly."

"I own your mother's life, Shuichi Minamino," Roto hissed causing Kurama to instantly freeze and stop the attack. Roto spun around with his weapon gleaming and Kurama leapt back in time to miss the full force of the blow, but his surprise had cost him. When he stopped moving and stood calmly before us all, we saw the wound on Kurama's cheek that was bleeding down the side of his face. It wasn't too deep, but Roto managed to catch him just the right way with the edge of his weapon to cause a small stream of blood to come down his face. Kuwabara and Hiei leaned forward slightly as they both expressed surprise that Kurama had slowed down. I stared coldly at Roto as he brought out the button he was using against Kurama, "Heh heh…see this? My familiars are stalking your mom, and they'll devour her if I press this switch! Being such a devoted "son" you wouldn't like that. Heh heh heh."

Kurama stared at Roto for a moment with an unfathomable expression on his face and then straightened up with his hands at his side. Kuwabara tensed beside me and I leaned forward trying to read Kurama's eyes. I knew that he wasn't very happy with what just happened, but I actually wanted to read the emotions that you never saw in the anime and manga. We imagined that they were there, but because of the fact that it was just an anime and manga, we didn't see the raw emotion that was there. Even though Kurama made his entire form become absolutely calm, I saw anger flash through Kurama's eyes for a second and then return to the emotionless cold eyes he'd use to scare Roto.

"Heh heh heh heh…I see you get my drift. Kurama, you human lover you!" Roto shouted suddenly lunging forward and punching Kurama away from him. Kurama tossed the pebble at his face and I narrowed my eyes trying to catch Kurama planting the seed of the Deadly Vetch in Roto's body. Kurama was too fast for me and I didn't managed to see the seed itself, but I did see Kurama hand twitch slightly as if he was ready to let it grow at that current moment. Roto looked to see the pebble and laughed, "A little pebble? A modest show of defiance? Well, forget it! No more, not even a pebble's worth! Clasp your hands behind you! You're my punching bag, got it?! Got it, punk?!"

My ears twitched in annoyance as Kurama emotionlessly put his arms behind his back. I grit my teeth slightly and muttered, "That fugly bastard likes to hear his own voice, doesn't he? It's a darn shame he doesn't know the death sentence he just signed."

"Ooh, scary. Okay, fight me if you want, but you do and I'll push the button, I guarantee," Roto said catching the look that Kurama was giving him. Hiei and I instantly knew that Kurama was just biding his time until he felt that he was ready to slaughter Roto ruthlessly in front of the entire stadium. I sighed slightly and crossed my arms tightly over my chest. It was only a matter of time. Roto walked forward to stop right in front of Kurama and said, "Heh…but you won't fight will you? You're such a sweet li'l momma's boy. You might sever my left arm with your whip, but the fingers might flinch and…Press! Heh heh heh heh…Right, punk?!"

Roto then proceeded to throw unfair punches at Kurama as he stood there calmly. I dug my nails into my arms in agitation and found great relief that Kurama would show this low-life how far he really pushed it. I couldn't stand the fact the demons, and people, like Roto used such things against their enemies. If there was one thing I believed in with fighting that if someone couldn't make it on their own they shouldn't have put themselves in that position anyway. I knew that there was a possibility of me not standing against my enemies, but I would never resort to such trickery to win. Then again…that was another human sentiment.

"_Indeed. You're full of such sentiments aren't you?"_ Hiei asked causing me to flinch slightly.

"…_are you going to tell them?"_ I asked curiously trying to think of some way to get out of the trouble I was in. The only way I thought of was ending up dead and that was something I was trying to avoid. So, in short, I was screwed.

"_Hn," _Hiei answered causing me to look back at Roto using Kurama as a punching bag. It made me wonder about how the group would react to me supposedly being human even though it's clear I'm a demon here. How would they react to finding out that I came from a completely different world and they were just characters in a storyline someone made up? I couldn't even imagine. I know that if anyone told me that I'd tell them to go to someone else and tell them that. I wouldn't give them a chance and probably think they were crazy. Isn't that what anyone would do? Would the group be the same?

I was suddenly brought out of my thoughts by Roto growling at Kurama and putting his sword right under Kurama's eye. Roto looked at him suspiciously and said, "That look in your eye…I don't like it. Look scared, punk. Got it?"

Kurama stared at Roto completely calm and Roto became unnerved by the cold look in Kurama's eyes. A nervous sweat began beading at his face and Roto slashed Kurama's cheek saying, "STOP lookin' at me like that!!"

I flinched as I watched Kurama's blood spray on the arena floor and drip off the edge of Roto's blade. I leaned forward slightly and tried to read Kurama's thoughts through his eyes. The next thing that I knew was that my entire body went cold and goose bumps ran across my arms. Kurama's eyes were cold and seemed like endless pits of ice. Kurama wasn't going to give this fool anymore slack and I could only imagine how much pain Roto would be in when Kurama finally chose to attack him. Roto tried to keep his composure as he looked at Kurama and said, "Now I'm in a real bad mood. You'd better do somethin' about it…or else. Bow down and lick my shoe. Once it's clean, I'll cut your head off. After that, maybe I won't press the button. That's my offer. Can you refuse? Course not. Your mommy's life's on the line. Heh, heh, heh."

"Bastard," I hissed quietly through my teeth, "Using Kurama's mother against him like this. I wish I could show him what respect looks like."

"_I doubt you'd get far with this one,"_ Genkai said quietly to me._ "He'd just find something else to use against you because that's the only way he fights."_

"_Well, it's a good thing I don't have anyone that can be used against here. He'd have to use a weakness that he sees in battle because I don't have any outside influences he'd be able to use,"_ I replied looking at Kurama as he glared Roto down. Genkai remained silent and I watched at Kurama made his move.

"I refuse."

"Come again?" Roto asked in a disbelieving manner.

"Enough. Push the button," Kurama replied dusting himself off from taking Roto's beating. He was completely calm and if I didn't already know what he was going to do, I'd be bouncing on the balls of my heels.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh…Did I hear you right? Push the button?! You hypocrite, you're no different from us after all! This is all it takes for you to go demonic again!" Roto shouted laughing at Kurama.

"You have no idea exactly how demonic he'll go on you, you pathetic excuse for a living creature. This is what happens when you mess with someone you cannot fully understand. Although, I have to thank him for the lesson. Now, I'll know never to underestimate the unknown," I muttered very quietly not thinking of what Hiei and Genkai would think if they heard me. As it stood I was already in for explaining later and I would just think of a way out when it happened. I wasn't procrastinating on making an answer because I knew I'd make a more believable one when I was under the pressure of their stares, or in Hiei's case, glares.

"Heh, heh, heh! Fine, I'll push it! We're all bloodthirsty demons here, right!" I had half a mind to say "not me," but I kept my tongue bit between my teeth. Roto moved to press the button, but his body suddenly stopped moving and he stared at Kurama in surprised fear. He tired to move and gasped, "Can't…move…my hand…"

"I'll repeat what I've said so often before, that what seems the easy way out is usually the most dangerous. You tried coercion, so I countered it by planting a Deadly Vetch seed on you. The roots have spread through your body, immobilizing you," Kurama said wiping the blood off the side of his face as Roto finally realized what happened and when Kurama had planted it. A stunned silence entered the arena as Kurama looked calmly at Roto and said, "When I say a certain word, the plant will grow at an explosive rate. I enjoy facing lowlifes like you. It allows me to be as brutal as I want."

"NO! Don't sink to my level! I like nice guys! I do! I was just kid-" Roto began to panic and beg for his life, but Kurama merely turned his back on Roto and looked over his shoulder to say one bone chilling word that was covered in ice.

"Die."

Roto's scream echoed through the air as plants began to burst out of every part of Roto's body. Buds broke through his arms and leaves came out of his chest like Spring had been put on fast forward. Kurama wasn't kidding when he said the plants would grow at an explosive rate and before Roto could even realize it, he was dead. Kurama looked back with a softer look and said, "Ironic that the lowest of knave's blood grows the loveliest flowers."

I had to admit that he wasn't wrong there. The flowers themselves were actually really pretty to look at and I could already smell their soft scent drift through the air. It just made them repulsive to me since I knew exactly where they came from and I had to look elsewhere until they got rid of Roto's body. Kurama made his way down out of the ring and roars from the audience almost drowned out Koto saying, "Kurama's come up with a win for the Urameshi Team!!"

"As expected, the familiars took off once their master expired," Hiei said messing with the bandana over his third-eye.

"So you noticed," Kurama said stepping level with us.

I made a small sound in the back of my throat and muttered quietly, "That was an…interesting way to put it. Expired… more that slaughtered…although he deserved ever bit of it."

"That idiot had no idea who he was dealing with," Hiei answered smugly. Then he looked over at me and said, "Be sure you don't make the same mistake."

"Understood," I answered quietly to him.

"Next Contestants!" Koto shouted causing a sudden power surge to hit all of us. We turned to look at the ring curiously and there was Zeru standing there with his stare of ice. Chills hit my spine as I looked at him and I barely heard Koto shout, "Team Urameshi! Your next contender, please!"

"I thought he was the team captain," Kurama muttered thoughtfully.

"Meaning those other two are tougher'n him?!" Kuwabara nearly wet himself.

"No," Hiei said immediately calling all of our attention on him. He smirked slightly and continued, "He's definitely the powerhouse of that team. Like most teams, they probably drew lots for fight order."

"Which basically means we're late," I mused smiling slightly. Hiei's ignored me and continued as though I hadn't said anything.

"I'll take him. I want to get back at him for making fools of us yesterday," Hiei said taking the cloth off around his throat. Hiei calmly dropped it on the ground and no one noticed that it fell on my foot. I moved so I couldn't drip blood on it from the worst wound on my leg, but Hiei quietly said, _"Leaving that wound unattended for too long could result in a worse experience."_

I quietly understood and reached down to pick up the cloth. I began wrapping it around the wound and was careful to make sure nothing happened while I did. Kuwabara took notice of what I was doing and came over saying, "Hey, are you sure he won't get bent out of shape about you doing that?"

"If he does, he can just get over it. This wound hasn't stopped bleeding yet," I said finishing it and straightening up to look at him. I smiled and said, "No worries though. I didn't take as much of a beating as you did. I just got knocked around a bit and used as a pincushion…nothing compared to you."

"If you say so," he replied looking at the fight.

"I see you use flames," Hiei was saying as he stood calming in front of Zeru. Hiei looked at him confidently and continued, "I checked that cup. It looked like it had been sliced up by a blade, but the edges were melted. You lack refinement." OUCH! BURN! No pun intended.

"What's it matter? I don't take criticism from a belly-crawlin', evil-eyed rodent," Zeru said effectively making my annoyance shoot up at an obvious rate. I didn't like it when people made fun of my friends back home and I even got into a fight with one girl because she called my friend fat. Now, I was livid with what Zeru called Hiei and considering I actually respected the Jagan-user (not like a fan girl either!), I was pissed that someone would show such disrespect. Then again, it also made it clear that there were huge differences between the way I've learned to fight through Judo and this. In Judo, you always respected you're opponent. No matter who won or lost, the respect between the fighters was always shown on the mat as well as off the mat. Here you took cheap shots and attacked your opponent with the intent of pushing them not only physically past their breaking point but mentally as well.

Zeru powered himself up and made his fiery aura explode all around the ring. Koto was blown back by the power, but Hiei stood calmly where he was at and looked at Zeru with absolutely no emotion on his face. Kuwabara stepped back away from the aura and I took a breath to overcome the heat that suddenly hit me. After a moment, I was fine and watched Zeru get cocky, "Impressed? You should be! A mouse like you could never in his whole life summon this much aura."

"Enough talk," Hiei said in disinterest, "Move."

Hiei stood perfectly still as Zeru looked at him and then before anyone could see what happened he had disappeared. No one could even take a breath before he reappeared and stabbed his flaming hand through Hiei's stomach. Hiei looked slightly stunned as he was thrown back away from Zeru and then engulfed by the demon's flames. Only the faint silhouette of Hiei's body was recognizable through the flames and he slammed onto the ground with a thud. Kurama was completely stunned at what just happened to his friend and Kuwabara couldn't believe that Hiei was defeated so easily. Genkai seemed slightly disappointed that he was defeated so easily and Yusuke still stayed in his oblivious slumber. I stared over at Hiei's supposedly burning body and wondered if he was going to get back up. I knew from the storyline that he got up and kicked ass, but…what if something had changed? What if Zeru had hit him at a different more dangerous angle? Would he still get right back up? What would happen then?

"Heh. Hardly worth gettin' out of bed for that," Zeru said looking cockily over at us. I tensed slightly knowing that he planned on killing the rest of us off, but I immediately relaxed at the sight behind him. I smiled at him and watched in amusement as Hiei stood behind him with the flames still going around his body. Zeru glared at me wanting to know what I found so entertaining and I merely looked behind him waiting for him to realize who was behind him.

"You're not bad. Pity I have to kill you. However…" Hiei began in a very smug tone. Zeru froze in his place and threw his head over his shoulder to stare at him in fearful surprise.

"Y-you withstood my demonic fire? Impossible!" Zeru said clearly afraid of Hiei's power.

"Heh," Hiei gave a snort of contempt, "You now know otherwise. Rejoice! To you goes the honor of being the first in the human world to fall to the Blazing Fist of the Overlord!!"

"I sure as hell wouldn't want that honor. He can have it," I muttered as Kurama realized Hie's full intentions.

"Blazing Fist of the Overlord! A martial art forbidden in the human world. It's meant ONLY for the demon plane!" Kurama said causing Kuwabara to pale beside him.

"Well, Hiei wants to show a little rebellion against that rule. So long as he doesn't point that arm at me, I say more power to him. He's the one that said he'd pick up any slack there was and this is a way to do it," I said looking at the flames that were now turning black around Hiei's arm. I leaned in slightly and found that I wanted to see Hiei's dragon. The Black Dragon could easily kill anyone it touched and I knew that if it touched me I'd never see my family again, but at the same time I wanted to see exactly what Hiei's ace was in person. It was amazing to watch in the anime and I knew that it'd be even more mind blowing in person. I was itching with anticipation.

"I admit, I haven't completely tamed it!! But I will, in very short order!" Hiei said bringing up his arm for everyone to notice the distinct shapes that seemed to be flowing away from his arm.

"Who's he trying to reassure? "Haven't completely tamed it?" I'm a little worried now," I said looking at Kurama. The kitsune nodded and we looked to see his death finally sinking into Zeru.

"My right arm should be enough for this. I'm afraid my control is meager…" Hiei began pouring more power into his arms and flames suddenly erupted all around him. His shirt was burned off of his chest and I nearly fell into a fan-girl state just looking at the muscles. I shook the stupor off and saw all the flames became darker and far fiercer. I stepped back as the feeling of when Hiei's used his third-eye washed over me once gain. Except this time it was worse than it ever was before and I stumbled back even more. All that training we had done didn't even seem to have helped me. Kurama steadied me and I looked at Hiei's third-eye thinking about how much power he was generating. I needed to remember how much he was giving out and how badly it was affecting me. Hiei looked back at me for a moment before meeting Zeru's eyes once again continuing, "See? This is real pyromancy…true evil that your match-play lacks! You scoffed at my evil eye…and that's something you'll regret!"

"Wait…You can't…!!" Zeru shouted stepping away from Hiei.

"It's going over the top here! Even I, your commentator, have decided to take cover!" Koto shouted as I stabled myself away from Kurama. I looked into Hiei's eyes and then watched him reach his hand back to attack Zeru.

"Here it comes! Black Dragon Hellfire!!" Hiei shouted as he unleashed the Black Dragon on the completely helpless Zeru. Flames encased his entire body and we were all thrown back at the sheer power of the impact. I fell against the grass as pain shot through my leg and black flames exploded around the ring. Everyone-except me-shielded themselves from the flames and didn't see Zeru get pinned against the wall. I watched in awe as his entire body was incinerated and his form was burnt into the wall. Then the dragon began to fade and I pushed myself up to see Hiei looking over at me. I gave him a thumbs up and he returned his attention back to the form that once was Zeru. Absolutely everything was silent as the smoke slowly cleared away and everyone looked back to see what had happened.

"Damn. Hiei's one powerful SOB," I heard Kuwabara mutter quietly as he got up from where he had been thrown down. Kurama held his hand out to me and helped me to my feet. I looked down at the wound on my leg and noticed it started bleeding badly once again. Thank god Hiei let me use the cloth to wrap it up or it really might've become infected. We turned back to look at Hiei and saw him waiting for Koto to get up from her hiding spot.

"It was over in a flash," Kurama said looking calmly at the spot where Zeru's body was burned into the wall.

"I'm glad I didn't see the guy gettin' singed. That would've been bad," Kuwabara said shaking his head at Zeru.

"Not really. He didn't even know what hit him. He only made a sound when he was slammed against the wall, but then he just burned in complete silence with a stunned look on his face," I said looking at Kuwabara who stared at me in awe. I turned my attention back to the ring and noticed Koto's little fox ears appear over the edge. She looked around warily before standing up and seeing where Hiei's attention was. She followed his eyes and nearly froze in her tracks.

"Oh my…the wall…" she gasped upon seeing the scorch mark.

"I incinerated his human world aspect. Start the count," Hiei stated looking smug.

"Oh! I…I think we'll just skip that! Whew! The…the winner-Hiei!!" Koto announced causing a near riot to break out among the spectators.

"See that, ya punks!! Even gypped in the first round, we're up three to one!!" Kuwabara shouted confidently at the audience. He was met with various sounds from the audience, but he ignored them to contemplate exactly how powerful Hiei really was, "Not that it's a heckuva lotta comfort. What Hiei just did…what he can do…if he decided to turn on us now…"

Hiei silently made his way towards us with his hands in his pockets and his eyes thoughtfully focused on the ground in front of him. He sensed Kuwabara's eyes on him and looked out of the corner of his eyes at the fighter. Kuwabara gulped and paled at the eye contact. Hiei looked slightly amused, but-to some degree-attempted to be reassuring as he said, "Calm down. Once I pick a side, I stick with it. My Blazing Fist of the Overlord needs work, anyway."

"It's good to know that you don't just side with the strongest. Besides, even if your Blazing Fist needs work its pretty freakin' impressive," I said looking at Hiei as I gave him a thumbs up. He looked at me shaking his head slightly and stood beside me.

"You're still heavily affected by the Jagan. Do you think you can stand against it?" Hiei asked as I looked over at Yusuke remembering that he'd be waking up soon.

"I dunno," I replied looking at him dead in the eyes. My tone remained completely serious and I continued, "Yours is pretty powerful and I haven't even really seen too much of Morte's. As it stands, I might be in over my head. Besides, you weren't even using the Jagan on me and I barely could stand without Kurama supporting me. That's not a good sign at all."

"Hn," was his only reply and we refocused our attention on the rest of our opposing team as they began to freak out.

"That's enough for us. We want out!!" one guys said freaking out.

"We came to kill for fun…an' fun this ain't!!" the other finished as they both began to run for their lives. They didn't manage to get far however before a blur came up and their heads were sent flying through the air. Blood spurted out of their necks as their useless bodies feel to the ground and a pair of feet to land on the ground of the ring. The ungodly scent of alcohol hit my nose and I stumbled backwards covering my nose. Kurama made a noise of distaste in the back of his throat and I moved back beside Hiei once I managed to overcome the smell.

"Man this guy is going to kill himself with booze," I muttered as all the others-including Genkai-nodded in agreement. We watched him throw the blood off of his arms and walk over to Koto with a small smile on his face.

"Fun's best when it's spiked wit' danger. These yeller swine-dogs spoiled m' buzz," Chu said walking forward moving the toothpick between his lips. He walked right near Koto and glanced over all of us for a moment as Rinku called out to his teammate in surprise. After Chu inspected each of us he turned to Koto and said, "Hey girlie, we got two deaths b' "accident." What's the rules say 'bout that?"

"Each team gets one alternate…that's it. Circumstances don't matter. Y-You'll have to go on with whomever you have left!! And no forfeits allowed!" Koto stuttered into the microphone as she began shaking. Chu's presence clearly unsettled her and she wasn't exactly sure if she was ok standing where she was.

"Hmm…that's fine. So it's me agains' their last two, huh? Interestin'…" Chu said thoughtfully as he looked over our group once again. His attention fell on Genkai and she merely looked at him with emotionless eyes.

"His aura's not much, but there's something…" Kuwabara mused as we all suddenly heard a little noise near us. We looked around and saw Yusuke was awake and blinking away the sleep from his eyes.

"Whoo! Who's been boozin'? That stench could raise the dead and kill 'em over again!" Yusuke said cleaning his ear with his pinky. I smiled at him shaking my head and noticed Kurama looking at him seriously. Yusuke looked over all of us and then looked at me saying, "Rin, were you the first one up fightin'?"

"Yeah. Why, Yusuke?" I answered looking at him curiously.

"Who were you fighting? I swear I heard her wailing breaking my eardrums in my sleep. It sounded like you were killin' her slowly and painfully with all that noise," he said causing me to anime fall and Kuwabara start cracking up. Kurama chuckled softly and Hiei couldn't help but get an evil smile that agreed.

"Her name was Siren," I answered straightening up and barely keeping myself from smiling.

"…That explains a lot of stuff that I would rather forget," Yusuke replied looking away shaking his head. I laughed and then we looked over at Chu who was standing there with his hands at his sides.

"Hey, yuh finally woke up! All nice an' rested? Y'better hope so!" Chu hiccupped as Yusuke began cracking his knuckles. I heard the shout from his mother and looked up to see all of them looking at us curiously. Keiko had clear worry on her face, Yusuke's mother was blissfully ignorant, Botan was wishing Yusuke luck, and Shizuru stood completely emotionless as usual.

"C'mon! Le's GO! I wanna win it all quick, then get down t' sum serious drinkin'!" Chu said biting down on the toothpick in his mouth. I shook my head and tried to imagine how many drinks Chu had already downed before coming into the fight. He really was going to drown himself in beer or some other kind of alcoholic drink.

"A man with a plan, eh? Leave 'im to me. I could use some light exercise after that nap," Yusuke said stepping in front of Genkai as if she was itching to jump into the fight. The old woman just looked up at him in silence and allowed the combat junkie to walk forward onto the ring.

"Urameshi's finally woken up!!"

"Yeah!! To his worst nightmare!"

"Kill 'im, Chu!!"

"Tear him limb by limb!"

"KILL HIM!!"

These were just a few shouts from the audience that broke out all around us. Their roars got louder and louder causing my head to start pounding painfully. I closed one eye wishing for quiet and watched as Yusuke and Chu refused to break eye contact and loose their smiles. Hiei watched them saying, "It's all bark and no bite. Yusuke doesn't even notice."

"Yer right. He looks ready. We're kickin' butt now, it's almost a joke," Kuwabara mused confidently. Hiei looked at him like he was a moron, but stopped when I put my hand on his shoulder and shook my head. He decided to let it slide and I looked over at Kurama and his thoughts about the situation we were in. I remembered the thoughts going through his mind and looked worriedly at Hiei's arm. I saw the singe marks all over and instantly thought of how much pain it had to cause him.

"Hiei…how bad is your arm?" I whispered so only he could hear me.

Hiei looked at me for a moment and I saw it in his eyes. The pain was almost unbearable, but Hiei refused to let any of us know how bad his arm really hurt him. I froze at the thought and he said, "It's fine."

"…Ok…" I said deciding not to push it further. He'd have to admit to it later and I knew it. So I turned to the ring and watched Chu look over Yusuke.

"You call this _light_ exercise…" as soon as the last syllable escaped his mouth, Chu disappeared from all of our sight and we all nearly freaked out. How did someone that _big_ just disappear like that?! It was surprising to see someone that size have that kind of speed. You just wouldn't think it was possible! Chu suddenly reappeared just beside Koto and had her microphone in his hand. We all stood in complete awe as he said, "Lemme borrow this. Testin', testin'..."

"Mrrow?! How'd he do that?!" Koto nearly freaked as she looked at the huge figure looming beside her.

"Before the fight…I wanna make one thing perfec'ly clear! And it ain't t' say, 'Can I call you bro'?' I lost at rock-paper-scissors!! So don' go thinkin' I'm sum kinda lightweight!!" Chu shouted angrily into the microphone causing the entire place to go silent. It was like you could hear a pin drop as the audience tried to figure out what the hell was wrong with Chu besides being drunk. Personally, I was with them all the way. Sure Chu was a pretty fun guy and one of my favorite characters, but I swore on everything I had that there was something seriously wrong with him!

Koto whipped a spare microphone out of nowhere and turned it on saying, "Ahem! I'll explain that! The Jolly Devil Six decided their fight order and their alternate by rock-paper-scissors…So Chu's saying he's and alternate by procedure and not degree of prowess! In fact, he's the deadliest of the Jolly Devil Six!"

"Darn Tootin'!!"

"Except…he's drunk as usual!" Rinku sighed causing all of us to sweatdrop. Kurama pushed his pointer finger into his forehead and refused to look at Chu.

"Moron," Kuwabara growled looking at Chu like he was the dumbest person in the world.

"That's not even half of it," Hiei and I said in unison. We looked at each other in surprise and immediately looked away. My face turned red and Hiei gave off a slightly startled air. The moment was cut short as Yusuke pulled off his coat and smiled like a moron himself.

"Okay, I get the picture. Let's do it!" Yusuke said completely pumped for the fight that was coming up.

"Whoa, bud!! Yer not buyin' it! I ain't trashin' no one whose guard is down!! So here's a straight warnin-I use the Drunken Fist!! The drunker I am, the stronger I gits! My unsteady moves make my enemiesh think I ain't all there!! So don' be takin' in, get me?!" Chu shouted at Yusuke to make him understand that he was a hell of a lot stronger than he was currently acting like. I think Yusuke already knew that fact for himself and wasn't really worried about the fight himself. Rinku on the other hand fell over in embarrassment at his comrade's actions. I honestly couldn't blame him. Chu would definitely be hard to take seriously for more than one reason. First of all the drinking just makes him seem like he didn't give a damn. Another thing was the way he talked when he was drunk and sober. He just didn't seem like he meant what he said all the time. It must be hard for him and his teammates to be taken seriously sometimes because of these little facts.

"Right…but hey…the drunken fist ain't no big shakes. You've got something special up your sleeve. Otherwise this fight would hardly be worth the trouble, eh?" Yusuke said looking at him with a confident smile. He knew full well that Chu wasn't messing with him and he wasn't going to be caught off guard in this fight.

"Yer cool…I like that. Don' get opponents like you ev'ry day. This could be fun," Chu said as his aura began to flow around him and he began gliding around the ring while Yusuke stood completely still. His movements were quick and agile making it seem like he was just gliding around the ring. I blinked in awe and leaned forward to watch it all. Chu's aura was a strange thing and Yusuke stood completely calm against it making me turned green-eyed with envy.

"Kill! BEGIN!!" Koto shouted initiating the official start of the fight.

--

_**ME:**_** Jeeze. Typing all of Chu's dialogue was a pain. Having to make it exactly like it is in the manga is so freaking hard considering I've been writing papers for school. Getting his drunkard talk right sucked!**

_**Hiei:**_** You know as well as I that you didn't mind it. Quit complaining.**

_**ME:**_** (sigh) Yes sir. Alright people so that's the end of this chappie! I hope you liked it and drop some reviews please! Peace out! (Off to go to sleep which I haven't had much of lately.)**


	13. Combat Junkies

_**ME:**_** Yay! I got more people reading and reviewing this story!! I'm happy now!!**

_**Hiei:**_** This is a step up for you.**

_**ME:**_** Get off my back Hiei. I'm genuinely happy and this story seems to have caught a bit of attention for a self insert. That fact alone makes me proud.**

_**Hiei:**_** So says the author who's lost all confidence in her writing.**

_**ME:**_** …just had to bring that up didn't you?**

_**Hiei:**_** I merely stated the truth and nothing more.**

_**ME:**_** I really don't want to argue with you anymore. I only own my characters and wish that I could've really been put in this story. Well Chapter Start.**

**--**

_This is just a little question that it might be bad to ask my readers, but could some people give my Misguided Blood, War of the Mazoku story a look? Please? I just want a little more feedback on that story._

_--_

_**Chapter 13: Combat Junkies**_

"Yer cool…I like that. Don' get opponents like you ev'ry day. This could be fun," Chu said as his aura began to flow around him and he began gliding around the ring while Yusuke stood completely still. His movements were quick and agile making it seem like he was just gliding around the ring. I blinked in awe and leaned forward to watch it all. Chu's aura was a strange thing and Yusuke stood completely calm against it making me turned green-eyed with envy.

"Kill! BEGIN!!" Koto shouted initiating the official start of the fight.

"Two combat junkies duking it out…this should be a very interesting fight to watch," I said looking at Kuwabara who was nodding in agreement. We both knew that this was going to be one hell of a spectacle and we didn't want to get in the middle of any of it, lest a stray punch just happen to come our way. I thought about it for a second and then looked at Kuwabara asking, "Exactly how bad do Urameshi's punches hurt?"

"They hurt like a son of a bitch," Kuwabara answered bluntly rubbing his face at the mere memory, "It depends on his mood. If he's pissed then he could break your jaw with one good hit, but he mostly just goes until he gets bored."

"Ouch," was all I could say. I then turned back to the fight to see Chu moving.

Chu began moving even more swiftly around the ring and I stood in awe at how someone his size could just glide across the ground like he was on ice or something. I took a deep breath and heard Kurama say, "He doesn't move…he glides!!"

"He appears self-taught, but that's no disrespect to his skill!! He'll be hard to follow," Hiei agreed as I stared in complete surprise.

"This is why I'm happy Yusuke took him instead of me," I muttered watching Chu's feet carefully. He didn't even seem to be walking or anything. It was a pure glide. It was amazing to watch. Suddenly, Chu came up on Yusuke's side and it became a blur of action as he moved to attack him out of nowhere. Yusuke grabbed his arm in time to keep it from colliding with his neck, but he was unable to grab the other fist that slammed into his torso area. I blinked at how many he launched and said at the same time as Hiei, "Five blows at once!"

We stopped and stared at one another for a moment surprised that we said the same thing in unison. I quickly averted my eyes with a nervous sweat-drop forming in the back of my head to watch Chu finish the attack by planting Yusuke in the ground. Hiei likewise ignored the fact that it happened and watched the fight.

"He had no chance to strike back!" Kuwabara shouted in complete shock.

"Chu's appearance seriously belies his ability!" Kurama stated as he watched the fighter glide away from Yusuke for a moment.

"You're not kidding! I swear I've never seen a guy that freaking big move like that!" I replied shaking my head. It was then that Yusuke bounced back up like he had springs on his heels and threw some lightning punches that I had a hard time following. It was even more stunning to me that Chu merely dodged from side to side of the punches as if they were nothing important to him. How was it that someone who looked like _that_ could move even more gracefully than I could?! I stood in complete shock as Chu suddenly disappeared from our sight and appeared at Yusuke's side like a shadow. I gasped as Chu soccer kicked Yusuke clean out of the ring and sent him crashing into the wall near us. Dust exploded from the impact site and rubble went flying out. Some came over my way and I merely covered my head instead of hurting my leg more by running. Instead of getting hit though a shadow passed in front of me and cut the rubble clean in half. I blinked in surprise and looked to see Hiei standing there with his back to me. I opened my mouth to ask him about it, but he beat me to the punch…again.

"If that ruble hit you and you fell back, there was a chance your weapons might hit Kurama or myself. It was a clean precaution of causing anymore damage that we already have," Hiei answered coldly as he turned on me. I couldn't answer and instead looked at his arm. The scorch marks of his own attack burned his arms and looked even more defined than they had a few minutes ago.

"_Hiei…I'm worried about your arm. Are you sure it's alright?"_ I asked looking at him worriedly.

Surprise seemed to flash in his eyes when he realized I was seriously concerned and took a moment to answer me. He looked back at where Yusuke had been thrown and said, _"Exactly why do you care? And don't give me it's because we're teammates crap."_

"_I'm genuinely concerned. Although as to why I can't be entirely sure!" _I snapped angrily at him. I turned my attention back on the match and crossed my arms thinking about how annoyed I was. He made it seem like a crime to be worried about him and that I shouldn't have been at all. Jerk! Of course I couldn't get too mad at him. He had been on his own for so long and so many people had tried to kill him since he was a baby. It wasn't fair for me to be mad at him and I instantly felt guilty about what I had said and looked at my feet in shame. That temper of mine was really going to get me into some deep shit if I didn't watch it carefully enough.

"_You have frequent mood swings don't you, baka onna?" _Hiei asked looking at me like I was an idiot. I got red in the face and quickly turned my attention back to the ring where Koto was shouting, "Amazing! A brilliantly executed combo! Even I'm at a loss for words to describe it. Urameshi was caught by surprise and skittered out of bounds!!"

"What gives Urameshi? You wanna check out my ace, don'cha? Ain't gonna happen if you fold on me this quick," Chu said looking at the spot he had just sent Yusuke into. Roars of murderous intent erupted from the audience and I sensed the bloodlust in the air thicken. My body seemed to tense slightly and something strange happened. It was like all their emotion was affecting me because my heart began to race and my fighting instinct seemed to sharpen. Spending this much time around demons was going to leave one hell of an impression on me. I could tell that much.

"Chu's pivot foot drilled a hole in the stone floor. That kick hadda been ten thousand times fiercer than Rinku's!" Kuwabara swallowed staring at Chu with sweat beading on the side of his face.

"No surprise. This guy is nothing like I've ever seen…" I said looking at him for a moment and meeting his eyes. I smiled a bit as I saw the true of the combat junkie shine in his eyes. It was the exact same when I looked into Yusuke's eyes. They both loved to fight and the adrenaline that rushed through their veins had them crave to fight non-stop. After being in their world for so long I think it was beginning to rub off on me as well. I smiled a little wider and said, "This just keeps getting better and better."

"Oh, right! Urameshi's out of bounds! Counting down now!" Koto shouted raising her hand over her head. Just as she began the count a huge explosion came right from the very spot Yusuke was at. He jumped up from where he was and Yusuke's mom went into a shouting fit over her dear son.

"Whew! That kick would've shattered me if I hadn't blocked it! This, I gotta say, is…like a shock to the spine!! Be you feel it, too!" Yusuke said jumping back into the ring and facing his opponent with a satisfied look. These two were going to pulverize each other. I knew that already, but seeing them stare at one another was intense. They didn't hate one another. It wasn't like that at all. It was all competitive. It reminded me of two good friends trying to beat the other out for the high score in a game. It was…great-for lack of a better word-to watch.

"Sure do. Combat junkie, that's me," Chu answered as Koto nearly freaked.

"My count only reached point five! This match is still on, folks!" Koto said looking between the two fighters that stood before her.

"Man, oh man! He blocked that kick with one arm! Yeah! He can handle this guy!" Kuwabara said confidently. I turned to look at him and shook my head slightly.

"Just because he blocked an attack doesn't mean he's set to win. I don't doubt Yusuke's power, but just because he blocked one attack doesn't mean anything," I said quietly looking at him seriously, "Chu's not even trying yet. Granted neither is Yusuke, but I wouldn't expect too much just yet. It's too early to tell."

Kuwabara looked at me for a moment before we turned and saw Yusuke pointing his finger just a little to his right and up. It was then that he fired off a shot from his Reigun. We all watched it demolish a bit of the stadium and looked at his hand in satisfaction, "This is my specialty-the Reigun. My limit seems to be four shots a day, so I just have three left…though each will have more aura force than the last."

"Urameshi's shown his ace upfront! This is sportsmanship to a fault! We've never seen the likes in the entire history of this tournament!" Koto commentated as the rest of the crowd sat in anticipation for what was going to happen.

"You idiot! D'that long nap addle your brain?!" Kuwabara shouted angrily.

"I wouldn't say that. I think he's just got a little junkie sportsmanship agreement with Chu going," I replied as the others looked at me curiously. It was bad enough that I seemed to know what was happening and now my overactive mouth was getting me strange looks. I blew it. They knew I knew-or at least had an idea-of everything that was going to happen. I sighed and slapped my forehead before looking back at Chu who was beginning to laugh and find this very entertaining.

"Ha ha ha ha! Prob'ly did!! I like you, man!" Chu laughed before suddenly staggering on his feet. He looked at Yusuke and said, "Boozed pretty hard while I was sidelined…now I'm starting to feel it. Got me a specialty, too. This is Ogresbane, hooch from th' demon world. Packs a helluva punch."

Chu flicked out a little bottle in front of all of us. I thought about what was going to happen and then felt one of my grossed out chills race up my spine. I covered my mouth and turned away from the scene knowing that I sure as hell didn't want to see or hear what was about to happen. Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei looked at me curiously and I merely shook my head at them saying, "Weak stomach at the moment. Very weak."

"Clear the decks! He's gonna do it!" Rinku said causing me to try and get as far away from the ring as I could. If there was on thing that was going to get me I knew it was going to be the sound that Chu was going to make as he "cleared the sluices." So everyone got really quite to see what Chu was going to do and I waited to be grossed out more than I had been in a while. I wasn't let down as the god awful sound coming from the back of Chu's throat and out entered the area and I began shivering in complete horror. Everyone else made sounds of disgust and I felt as if I was going to loose the little food I had in my stomach. Rinku sat where he was and began laughing, "I warned ya! Chu always has to clear the sluices so the full effects of the inebriation can set in! Now we'll see somethin'! Y'see, the drunken fist ritually summons Chu's true self to the human world!"

Everyone in my group stood at a sudden attention as a new scent entered the air. I overcame my grossed out state and turned back to the ring where Chu was straightening up. I noticed that the smell of alcohol was disappearing and a different scent was coming out. Was that really the smell of Chu's aura? I couldn't really tell what it was. It wasn't sour anymore, but it was something else that I just couldn't place. I imagined it was the demon world aspect and looked closely at Chu's aura as it began flowing around him. Kurama stared in surprise at Chu and said, "That sour alcohol smell is fading! The alcohol's blending with that strange demonic aura!"

"Phew…That's better. Got me a rep as the Soused Aura Alchemist! Yer ready. So you get the best I got," Chu said as he began weaving his hands around a ball of aura.

"Bizarre! He's spinning his aura like cotton candy! He's forming it into-I'm not sure, but it can't be good for Urameshi!!" Koto announced into the microphone. I stared at the aura flowing between his hands and couldn't help but be amazed at what he was doing. It was amazing to watch. The aura seemed to move exactly where he wanted it to and no excess energy was released against Chu's will. He was a clear master of his skill and there was no way any normal fighter could stand against it.

"So, an aura alchemist. Shoulda figured it the way he was alloying his pliable demonic aura with alcohol!" Hiei said looking at him with a straight emotionless face. Needless to say that I felt a little dimwitted because of the way Hiei always worded his sentences. It wasn't that I didn't understand them, but he and Kurama always used more sophisticated words that said the same thing as normal words. I just said what I thought and didn't even think about how it sounded……which probably made me sound like a child……did I mention how much I hated that? Yeah well, I didn't like sounding like I thought I knew everything, but I sure as hell didn't want to sound like a child!! So I sat there sulking about it for a moment and received odd looks from Hiei and Kurama because of it. I was really going to have to work on keeping my emotions from showing on my face.

Chu then held up an aura ball that looked like it could pack on hell of a punch. Kuwabara looked at the attack and said, "That energy ball looks like a Reigun effect!!"

"Very much like one! And packs as much power!" Kurama said staring at the attack in astonishment. "He worked out the analysis in no time!!"

"Power to power, guy! Ready?!" Chu asked as Yusuke and he began running to start an attack. I leaned forward in anticipation and watched at Yusuke focused his own power to strike back.

"And able!" Yusuke replied just as they got to the spot where they wanted to launch the attacks. They planted their feet in the arena and Chu threw his attack with what seemed all the strength he could pull together at the moment. Yusuke was just as quick and shot off his attack to meet Chu's. The attacks met in the middle of the fighters and began pushing against each other like their creators were about to do.

"Their shots! Goin' head to head!" Kuwabara called it as the attacks began pushing back and forth. Before too long though the attacks exploded and only a cloud remained after them.

"Tie!" Hiei and I called just as the attack disappeared. Once again Hiei looked at me in surprise and I genuinely had forgotten that he said that. I blushed and looked off again thinking that he was going to kill me for that if I didn't die of embarrassment first. Before anything else could be said though, Chu and Yusuke were right where their attacks had been and they were beginning to pound the living shit out of each other.

"They charged in behind their shots!!" Kuwabara called out as I leaned forward.

"They're insane!" I gasped as I watched them slugging the mess out of each other. I had never seen to guys go at it like Yusuke and Chu were. They were incessantly pounding away one punch right after another. I could literally hear each individual punch connect with their bodies and I was surprised I hadn't heard the cracking of any bones. There was enough force behind those punched to shatter some ribs and I couldn't imagine being hit with one of them. This was one of those things that assured me that I had really entered a different world. Guys back home would've flinched at the force of those punches, but these two were treating them like they were nothing. I shook my head and said, "I can't believe this."

"_You're really naïve when it comes to fighting, aren't you?"_ Hiei asked looking at me curiously.

"_I didn't used to think so, but after seeing all of this and what you guys are used to……yeah. I really am,"_ I replied looking at him seriously.

"_Then why are you putting us at risk staying here? If you have no experience in fighting, you're likely to get beaten out here without any problem. This is for those who have been fighting almost all of their lives. What makes you think that you can stand here amongst these seasoned fighters?" _Hiei growled at me causing my blood to pound in the rims of my ears.

"_Nothing makes me think I'm strong enough to be here and I think that it's a mistake that I even got the chance to be counted as a comrade to any of you. I know so many others that are way more suited for it for multiple reasons. But I'm here, which obviously means something. If it means I end up dead for some reason I'm gonna have to grin and bear it, aren't I? I'm not complaining that I'm here because all of you have been teaching me since I got here. But don't you dare think that I'm here because I chose to be,"_ I replied in monotone staring straight at him. I wasn't mad at what Hiei said, but I was doing everything I could to make him realize that I wasn't meddling on my own time. I was forced here. Although…I wasn't too heartbroken about it. He knew that much.

"……_As long as you're aware of the fact that I won't carry a deadweight. Don't expect any help if you get in over your head."_

"_I don't. You all have your own issues. Such as your arm,"_ I looked at the scorch marks on his arm and thought about the fire it took to conjure the dragon up. Yusuke and Chu continued punching the living snot out of one another and I took it as the opportunity to talk to Genkai before the fight continued on, _"Genkai…how hard is learning a few basics of healing?"_

"_That depends on the healing you're considering. And if it's what I think you're thinking, then you're going to need a much better control over your fire side," _Genkai responded instantly catching onto what I was considering.

"_And if I attempted to at this moment?"_ I asked staring into her eyes beneath the cloth she had.

"_You could only take so much and you'd have to bear some of the pain of it in a wound of your own," _Genkai said looking at me as seriously as she could.

That didn't sway me however. I looked down at the arm Morte nearly destroyed with the lightning attack she used at the Saint Beasts' domain. I thought about it for a moment and said, _"Could it be a wound that seems to have healed, but still has some effect on the body?"_

"……_yes,"_ Genkai answered coldly realizing that I had no intentions of being swayed to the responsible way of thinking. I looked at her to say something else, but I was interrupted by Kuwabara commenting on the fight. Hiei was the first to respond.

"Each one looking for an opening to fire at the other. At such close range, their shots will be fatal," Hiei stated emotionlessly. It was then that Chu suddenly brought his arm back and slugged Yusuke so hard that he was sent flying backwards to skid on his feet. Chu instantly saw the chance he had gained and began molding another attack together. We all knew that it would be one hell of an attack and Hiei even went as far as saying, "That's a huge amount of explosive aura. He'll pay for that, if the fight drags on."

"Eat this!" Chu shouted attacking Yusuke with all he had. The attack was headed straight for Yusuke and he knew that he was going to have to act fast to survive it. Despite all the odds looking against him and the comments made against him by his comrades, Yusuke sat ready with his power swelling in another shot. Chu watched the attack with all the confidence in the world that he was going to win, but Yusuke suddenly did something that made Genkai bristle beside me in a mixture of emotions.

Yusuke launched off a series of rapid fire attacks that went straight through Chu's attack. We all nearly jumped as we saw Yusuke and Chu takes each other's hits at the exact same time. I blinked in surprise and watched Yusuke and Chu disappear from the smoke clouds that had enveloped them. They moved to the area directly behind Koto and glared one another down with blood dripping from their various wounds.

"Did they both dodge or get knocked out of bounds?" Koto asked trying to find out a way to call the hits.

"Behind you!" I called out to her causing her to look back and nearly freak out.

"Whoa! They're behind me! And standing! They're both scruffed up, though!" Koto announced as she spun on her heels and took to watching the two.

"That's your four shots, guy. And your aura's spent. Nuthin' left but normal human strength…am I right?" Chu said looking at Yusuke with a small smile.

"Pretty much," Yusuke replied staring at his opponent with an amused face.

"Same for me actually," Chu agreed placing his hands on his knees. Both of them seemed to be slightly shaky on their feet and even I could sense that almost all the power they had was gone to just what their bodies could take from this point on. There wasn't any other energy in them. Blood was dripping from their faces and sweat mixed with the blood to leave a very strange scent in the air that had my nose twitching. Kurama seemed to take notice of this and chuckled slightly at my human action. I cocked my eyebrow at him and he immediately looked away like he was completely innocent. Yeah right fox. Yeah right.

Chu and Yusuke stared at one another for a moment before beginning to die of laughter. I sweatdropped at the two and shook my head. They were at a complete draw and laughing like morons about it. This is something I was never going to understand. Koto was with me as she commented, "Stalemated, and laughing about it! I'll never figure out what makes true combat junkies tick!"

"Still…we gotta settle this," Chu said stopping his laughter to look at the one person who had given him a run for his money.

"No doubt," Yusuke replied also quieting himself to see what was going to happen next.

"Ok, how 'bout this?" Chu said suddenly producing two knives from out of nowhere. I blinked in surprise and barely resisted the urge to ask where those came from. I didn't even see him pull them out. Guess that goes to show how out of it I actually was!! Oh god. How annoying. Chu showed the knives to Yusuke and continued, "Knife-edge Sudden Death!!"

Chu then moved a bit and planted one knife deep into the ring floor. I flinched after imagining him throwing those knives into someone instead of something and wondered exactly how murderous Chu could really be. Then I watched curiously as he placed the second knife a little ways away from the first and make sure the two were where he wanted them to be.

"He drove two knives into the stone. What's he up to?" Kuwabara asked staring intently at the knives.

"Take off your shoes and place your right heel against the knife's edge. We're now set at th' borders of life and death. Th' only rule is stay within those bound'ries. Th' one who falls outside will pay with his life. Awright announcer, at yer signal!" Chu said as the two moved to their spots and stared determinedly at one another. I blinked at the size difference between Yusuke and Chu. That just didn't seem fair at all. Neither seemed to take any notice of it and they prepared themselves for the fight as Chu continued to explain the rules. "We'll use only our sheer physical strength!! He who beats th' crap out of th' other-wins!!"

"Wow! Chu's unbeaten in knife-edge sudden death!! He's got a sure-fire edge in hand-to-hand combat!!" Rinku said confidently at the new situation.

"Little do you know that Yusuke's been fighting hand-to-hand for a long time. Maybe not as long as Chu, but long enough to stand worth something," I smirked crossing my arms. Kurama, Hiei, and Genkai looked at me questioningly and I smiled pointing to Kuwabara as I said, "Well, you can just ask him if you don't believe me."

"I've taken a lot hits from Urameshi, but that doesn't mean anything if this guy's really as thick as he looks!!" Kuwabara said looking over at Chu.

"We'll see," I muttered at Koto announced that the match would begin again. Chu and Yusuke didn't hesitate in beating the holy shit out of one another with such powerful punches that I couldn't help but feel my own sides begin to hurt. The sound of their fists connecting with bodies made me kind of sick. It made a horrible sound that almost made anyone who heard it feel the pain that had to be inflicted from it. I knew I couldn't even imagine how Yusuke's insides may have turned with each devastating punch that Chu threw and the same went for Chu when Yusuke fired off repetitive punches to his gut. Blood began splattering all around them and the knives at their heels began drawing about as much blood as the punches to the face did. I shook my head in amazement at them thinking that if I could stand to do that I wouldn't ask for much more in a fight. Chu suddenly laid one hell of a punch to Yusuke's skull and I flinched back saying, "Holy F-ing Shit."

"They just keep pounding! They're flipping nuts!!" Kuwabara stated (having a much cleaner mouth at the time than I did).

"No…just waiting for and opening. The end will be quick," Hiei said watching carefully.

Chu brought his arm back once again and threw it forward so hard to land another disturbing blow to Yusuke's face. Yusuke fell out of the rhythm of the fight and Chu took his chance to throw one heck of a head-butt. Rinku said how he thought this was the end for Yusuke and I said, "Here it goes. One more reason why I think Yusuke's head is the hardest of them all."

Yusuke met Chu's head-butt with his own and blood went everywhere from their heads, their heels, and their various other wounds that were bleeding. My jaw dropped at the sound of their skulls cracking into one another and the blood that went flying was just insane. This was the true definition of combat junkies. The two stood there for a moment as though nothing had happened, but Chu's eyes slowly closed and he fell to the side like the biggest ton of bricks I had ever seen. Everyone fell absolutely silent at the sight except for Kuwabara who asked, "Did Yusuke…live through that?"

"Amazingly yeah he did. And he didn't lose anymore brain cells than he already had," I smirked as Yusuke began to say his last bit.

"Heh…you forgot, dude…we humans invented the head-butt."

Koto began shouting out the count for the fight and I shook my head thinking of how much longer this was all going to last. How much pain were we all going to endure before this was done and over with? My biggest question was if I was going to live through this. Morte had so many opportunities to kill me off and make it look like an accident. I was aware of this and I realized that I was going to have to watch how I reacted to things.

"Urameshi wins! The winners with a score of four to one-Team Urameshi!!" Koto announced causing the crowd to go into an uproar.

"Right on! Thought we'd fold at th' start? Hah!" Kuwabara shouted at the arena as Rinku ran to his buddy's side. Meanwhile I glanced around at the people to try and find the one demoness who I knew was watching. It didn't take me long to find her at one of the entrances at the top of the audience area.

"_Did you enjoy the show, Morte?"_

"_More than you know little Rin. I guess it won't be long before the next fight and I'll have to make sure your next opponent is a little stronger this time,"_ Morte replied smirking from where she was.

"_So will I manage to see you in the ring?"_ I asked glaring up at her.

"_If you manage to make it to the last round alive, you just might,"_ she answered before disappearing from might sight. I stayed quiet for a moment before hearing the crowd go into a fury about the team of demons losing out to us. I turned around and saw Rinku telling us to let them rant because they didn't have the nuts to fight. I smirked then at what was going to happen next.

"SHUT UP, YOU BUTT-WIPES!!" Yusuke roared angrily over the entire stadium. All of the demons fell silent against Yusuke's sudden anger and all of us looked over at the demons with kickass glares. I myself was pretty impressed how much I didn't stand out amongst my comrades. We all looked like we'd be strong enough to destroy them all. Yusuke indicated to the ground before us all and shouted, "You want a piece of anybody down here? C'mon then! I'll knock all your heads in, one by one. Who's first, huh?"

All of the demons remained silent for a moment before yelling at us not to get cocky. I sniffed at them and said, "Rinku's right. None of them got the nuts to fight. They know they'd be laid flat on their faces if they came down here against any of these fighters."

"You don't seem to be including yourself in that," Kurama stated looking at me curiously.

"Hehe. I'm not stupid enough to try and stand with you guys like that. I'm only getting the hang of all this," I whispered so only they could hear me.

"Wise decision. But you're not off the hook yet," Hiei hissed as we began making out exit out of the stadium. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama were behind us and I watched Kurama excuse himself to watch the other fights that were coming up. Kuwabara and Yusuke didn't mind and began chattering about the fights to come.

"I didn't think I was. So I would like to borrow you and the masked fighter for a while if you don't mind," I said just as I began to walk a little bit faster. Genkai and Hiei matched my pace and before long we were off and running away leaving the others confused. I kept my eyes straight ahead and stopped only when I was sure that I was close to the cliffs where Hiei was going to go anyway. We came up on them and they stopped behind me.

"So you really do plan on actually telling us what all this is about?" Genkai asked causing Hiei to look at her for a moment before looking back at me.

"I do, but…I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to explain it and I'm not sure how you're going to take this…but to tell you guys now……I don't belong here," I walked all the way to the edge of the cliff and looked out over the waves as they crashed against the rocks. I was really going to tell them…but how would they take it?

"What do you mean you don't belong here?" Genkai asked.

"I mean that I'm not from the Reikai, Ningenkai, or the Makai. I don't belong here at all," I said looking back at them to see them slightly surprised.

"It would be wise for you to start from the beginning," Hiei said as he looked at me with and unfathomable face. I took a deep breath and nodded.

This was going to be one long day.

--

_**ME:**_** Nyahahaha. Another cliffy. What's going to happen now that I've got Genkai and Hiei waiting to hear about what's going on with me?**

_**Hiei:**_** So you genuinely plan on telling us what happens. I'm slightly surprised.**

_**ME:**_** You're not sure I'll tell you the truth, are you?**

_**Hiei:**_** With you I never know.**

_**ME:**_** Which is a good thing. Nyahahaha. Anyway, review people and I'll try to update soon. Oh and would some people please look at the other story? Please? You don't have to though. Anyway, review please!!**


	14. Truth and War

_**ME:**_** I'm back! And loving every minute of reading those reviews! Awesomeness!! Thank you to all the people reading this and supporting my writing! I really appreciate it and I hope to keep getting better thanks to all of you! I love writing this because of you!**

_**Hiei:**_** (mutters something inaudible)**

_**ME:**_** Hm? Oh, now you wanna say something under your breath? Why couldn't you have done that with those mean insults?! Anyway, speak up. Say it.**

_**Hiei:**_** (mutters again, but we distinctly hear) Sweet Snow.**

_**ME:**_** Oh! You're agreeing with the reviewer who said to give you sweet snow!! (smacks forehead) I should've figured as much. Lol. Anyway, I guess I can do that if you say the disclaimer.**

_**Hiei:**_** She owns nothing.**

_**ME:**_** Really want that Sweet Snow, huh? You didn't even take a breath or hesitate. Ok you held up your end of the bargain. Come on, Hiei. My mom bought loads of ice cream last night. We'll be back at the end of the chapter! Enjoy! Chapter Start! (walks off with Hiei following)**

**--**

_**Chapter 14: Truth and War**_

"It would be wise for you to start from the beginning," Hiei said as he looked at me with and unfathomable face. I took a deep breath and nodded.

This was going to be one long day.

"This all started one night when I was at home. Back then I was pure human and there was nothing special about me. I went to school, I read manga, and I stayed in my outcast social status. The last thing that happened was I was talking to my mother and went to my room to go to bed. Then I was transported here after hearing Morte say something to me and was transformed into the demoness that stands before you," I explained looking at my hands like I couldn't believe it myself. I was really telling them that I didn't belong in this world and leaving my fate up to them. They would either believe me or they'd deem me mentally insane.

"Humans don't just suddenly turn to demons and there's no way you could be from a different world. You would've had to come from the Ningenkai," Hiei said looking at me in annoyance.

"Well…in my world there are no demons. They're myths to say. Stories," I said rubbing the back of my neck.

"What?!" Genkai snapped looking at me in surprise from beneath her mask. She stepped forward and continued, "Are you implying that WE are just stories? And how are we just stories and you are reality?"

"I don't know!" I sighed in exasperation. I threw my hands into the air and shook my head. I didn't even understand what had happened! How could I have been transported from reality into something that was made up?! It was pure fantasy! Yet, I'm standing in the middle of it facing two people that shouldn't exist! How could I explain that to them? I sighed and continued, "I think it may be that our realities coexist, but never connect with each other. I'm sure there are stories this reality has made that are my history back home and vice versa. They only know of each other through fiction. I'm just a teenager that had no idea what was happening around me! The only thing I was sure of was how the people in this world would end up."

"Then you know everything that will happen to us and everything that will come against us," Hiei stated flatly.

"I used to. The thing is, I'm not supposed to be here. So, I could've thrown it all off. I don't know what's going to happen anymore. I just have to go with the flow now. Morte isn't supposed to be here either. We're extras and this could've thrown your whole life from the track I know," I said as my heart began beating faster.

"When were you brought here?" Genkai asked calmly.

"When Yusuke was hit by the car and I do mean _right_ when he was hit by the car. I knew the things that would happen and thought about how hard it was going to be for me to survive alone in this world. There were demons in Ningenkai and I didn't have any clue how I was going to be able to get through this without some help. So, I befriended the Yukimura family and Kurama's mother. I manipulated my way into Hiei's group and talked my way through everything. I managed to get Koenma on my side and managed to weasel my way into the Underworld Detectives. I knew what to say and how to get myself right where I needed to be," I painfully said not being able to meet their eyes. I forced my way into their lives and I made them help me. I put them in danger and forced them to help me when I needed it. I was so damn dependent on them and they didn't deserve a burden like me.

"Who is the demoness following you?" Genkai asked seriously.

"That would be Morte. I don't know where she comes from or who she is but she wanted me to destroy Yusuke. I was supposed to keep myself in the perfect position to do anything she wanted and strike at the opportune moment, but I never agreed to it. I didn't want to kill him and I sure as hell didn't want to be your enemy," I muttered staring at the ground. I sounded so pathetic. I wouldn't blame them if they decided to leave me on my own for this, but I was telling them everything. No matter what it sounded like to me, I owed them that much for how they helped me when I needed it. I looked up and said, "I was brought here against my will, but do I regret it? No way in hell. I've learned that I can't just say things and use my knowledge to get what I want. I have to earn everything and it makes me feel better to learn that. I was one hell of a bitch before I came here, but you all have knocked some sense into me. Sometimes I mean really knocked the sense into me the hard way. And I'm happy that I got to meet you all."

"It sounds like you're not in your right mind," Hiei sniffed looking at me for a moment. Then he looked away and continued, "But you never had the instincts of a demon. You always got lucky and when you first came here, you needed us to help protect you. You always seemed to know what was going on and didn't once act like a demoness normally would. You weren't as bloodthirsty as a demon should be and your ability to sympathize with humans was far beyond any demon I've met besides Kurama."

"I'm really pathetic. I'm not fit to be in this tournament and if you want me to take care of this myself and leave you all alone, I'll go do that now," I said determinedly. I was terrified of facing Morte alone, but I couldn't put them in danger anymore. Plus this was my problem from the beginning. This was their life and this was their home. It was my problem that I got thrown into the middle of it and if I had to get out I should do it without them. It was time I used that responsibility that they taught me.

"I always could tell you weren't human or demon. Your aura was too chaotic and mixed. You're not like the humans in this world or the demons. You're a completely different species and it seems you're the only one of your kind. It isn't until just recently that you had any idea where you were going in life. You were just wandering through it all and I could tell you barely had much sanity left to do that. Getting put here must've been your wake up call and you'll be put back when you've learned your full lesson. Until then it seems you're stuck here with us," Genkai stated crossing her arms and looking at me seriously.

"I figured as much…but what am I supposed to learn? And how?" I asked desperately looking at them.

"If you have to ask those questions, then you're not ready to go home," Hiei replied causing me to look at the ground again. He was right. Everyone always said that when I asked a question. If I had to ask I wasn't ready to know.

"In any case, you're here and so is your demoness, Morte. Whether you meant to or not, we're in the middle of this and we're not backing out. So you'd better be ready to fight like hell against her with us behind you. Besides, she's the one who went to Toguro and convinced him to invite you. Something tells me that even if you had avoided us that we would've been brought to you one way or another. Now, that I have some clue as to what I'm dealing with, I can prepare. I'll see you again when our next fight is up," Genkai said turning her back to us and leaving without hesitation. I stood in silence and took a small glance at Hiei who was still watching her go.

"Hiei? Are you…ok with this?" I asked quietly. I was scared more than ever that he wouldn't be willing to deal with me anymore. I couldn't say that we were friends on his side, but I didn't want to lose his friendship. He was someone important to me and I didn't want to lose him after all the things he's done to help me.

"Hn. What is meant to happen will happen. I just want to know what will become of Yukina in all this," Hiei said quietly looking me in the eyes. I immediately saw brotherly instinct and knew he wanted his answer quick.

"She makes it through all of this to the end. She'll be happy and that much I can promise you will happen," I answered looking down and tried not to shake. I was so afraid that Hiei would reject me for lying and for basically manipulating him and the other guys. I was so scared that both he and Genkai would say tough luck and leave me alone. Yet, they accepted me and even seemed to be fine with what I told them. I fell to my knees and lightly held the arm that Morte almost destroyed back at the Saint Beast Castle. People could be a little more forgiving than I had originally thought.

"You'd be surprised how much demons can take," Hiei said walking over to me and stopping right above me, "Though, you are too used to your human ways. The wounds inflicted on you are different from ours and you react differently to the bloodlust that stays around us. If you wish to survive any longer, you have to learn the way of your demon side. Otherwise you're as good as dead."

I didn't answer and instead slowly looked up to see Hiei's arm. The conversation I had with Genkai floated back into my mind and I was filled with the thought of trying to ease his pain in any way I could. No matter how small it was. That was surely my human sentiments, but my demon side could help me. So at that moment I was meeting him halfway. Or at least that's what I was telling myself.

"Hiei…do you trust me? Even if it's only a little?" I asked looking at his face.

"…" Hiei looked at me like I was insane and I slowly reached my bad arm up to his burned arm. At first he moved back for a second, but I gave him a look that said I was trying to help. He didn't want to give in, but stopped moving and allowed me to put my hand just over his arm where the burns seemed the worst. I focused on thinking about taking some of the pain away from him no matter what and calmly put my hand on his arm. At first he flinched and I could feel heat coming off the burns, but it suddenly stopped. A cool feeling came between my hand and his arm. It felt like a cool gel was washing over the scorch marks and I noticed some of the skin on my arm darkening. I moved just enough to block it from Hiei's sight and continued healing. At first nothing happened to my arm, which I thought was due to Morte practically frying all the nerves in my arm, but then it started feeling like it was on absolute fire. I took it as long as I could, but finally had to pull back because it was too much.

"So…how does it feel?" I asked looking up at him in concern. Hiei stared at me in complete surprise and by the look on his face I could tell he had no idea why I just tried to help him. I merely ignored the look and asked again, "How's the pain, Hiei?"

"It got milder," Hiei answered stepping back as I calmly stood up to hold my arm behind my back. I smiled and nodded.

"Good…I guess I'll be getting back to the building to rest up," I smiled as I began to turn around. Before I moved too far away though, Hiei's hand wrapped around my good arm and turned me so I was facing him. I was slightly surprised and stammered, "W-what is it, H-Hiei?"

At first he just stood there looking like he couldn't believe he stopped me, but quickly recovered and said, "I know you told us a lot, but I also know that you didn't tell the whole truth either. There's a little more to your story than you're telling us. The masked fighter didn't want to press you, but I will get the full story out of you one way or another. Enjoy this time while you can."

Then he let me go and walked off to where he would be at the cliff until he met Kurama in the forest. I turned and slowly walked off with a smile on my face. The path back to the apartment building was quiet and I quickly sensed that something was wrong halfway between the two points. I stopped and began looking around suspiciously until something suddenly came flying at my side. I back-flipped away from the attack to safety and landed at the base of a nearby tree waiting for my attacker to show themselves.

Little did I know that the person was as fast as Hiei and the tree behind me exploded into splinters. I turned around in surprise and was punched in the jaw so hard that I was surprised it didn't break my jaw. I skid across the ground and took out a least five trees before stopping buried under the dirt. Knowing I only had enough time to jump and dodge, I leapt to my feet and dove out of the way of a spin kick. I figured this demon was a textbook case assassin by the way they made sure I didn't see who they were. I had to figure out a way to see the person.

"Damn!" I nearly shouted as I took to a tree and hid myself away among the leaves. I controlled my breathing and looked down to see who was attacking me from below. A blue-skinned demon stood there dressed in a fighter's outfit and his long green hair was pulled back at the base of his neck. His yellow eyes were watching the trees carefully and I made sure I didn't move and inch. I couldn't afford to let him see me until I figured out what the bloody hell I was going to do.

"Morte overestimates you. She gives a wimp like you way too much credit," the demon laughed looking around for me.

"So you think," I answered suddenly pouncing on him from behind. We wrestled for a moment and I managed to stab his shoulder-blade with a knife I picked off him. He threw both his arms back and dislodged me from clinging to him. I slammed into a tree trunk and saw his fist coming at me again. This time it hit me square in the middle of the chest and I was sent flying even further back than before. I was thrown with such momentum that I came skidding to a stop nearby a cliff. Breathing was near impossible and I jumped over the demon to dodge another attack that would've sure broken my neck. I spun in the air and returned the blow with a punch off my own. My opponent was buried in the ground and I ran towards the cliff to get a safe distance away. I needed to think of a plan or this guy was going to beat me to an inch of my life.

"Where do you think you're going?!" the demon roared in anger and pounced on me like I had pounced on him. He slammed me into the cliff edge and my head snapped to catch just the end of the ground. His fingers curled around my throat and began squeezing the life out of me. I struggled to pull his fingers off my throat, but slowly noticed my world turning dull. I stared up into his face with my fading vision and saw him smiling down at me cruelly. His fingers got even tighter and I felt my entire body begin to shut down. I was dimly aware of being lifted off the ground and held in the air. Just as I passed out, I felt wind rushing around me and the sound of waves crashing below me.

--

My limbs felt like ice and I was shivering against the cold ground I was lying on. Water was crashing against the lower part of my body and stone was pressing against the side of my head. The smell of blood was filling my noise and I realized that he dropped me into the water at the bottom of the cliff.

Questions filled my mind and I tried to focus on what I needed to know. Where was I now? How long had I been there? Did any of my comrades know what happened? Or did they think I was dead? Did anyone know I was lying there almost drowned and barely alive?

The only thing that didn't go through my mind was if anyone was coming to look for me because I seriously doubted that would happen. Little did I know that that's what was going to happen.

"Hey, Chu! D'ya see that over there?!" a voice called from nearby.

"Hey. It's the gal from ol' Urameshi's team," another voice said sounding closer. I came dimly aware of the sound of hurried feet and then felt someone's hand on my back. They gently gave me a little shake and said, "C'mon now. Wake up. C'mon now, tha's a girl."

"What do you think happened to her?" Rinku's voice said on my right.

"Look at 'er throat. I reckon someone tried to strangle 'er," Chu's voice replied quietly. I began coughing up water and realized that I was struggling to breathe. A pair of arms softly turned me on my side and I began coughing up more water. The hands kept me from falling back and I could only sense good intentions around me. So I focused more on trying to breathe than being worried at who was helping me out of my predicament. Soon I was able to breathe again and slowly opened my eyes. They were bleary, but I was able to make out two figures around me and the sky showed that it was daytime.

"W-wh…what happened…" I whispered waiting for my eyes to clear. Rinku was sitting in front of me and he smiled his trademark smile.

"She's up, Chu!" he said happily.

"Chu…Rinku…what…" I muttered slowly pushing myself up with a help from Chu. He helped me out of the water and let me lean against him until he sat me by a tree. Rinku jumped on a branch over me and I watched him for a moment. My head was clearer and I asked, "How'd you guys find me?"

"We saw that demon throw something over the side. Had no idea it was you though!" Rinku laughed swinging to hang upside down in front of me.

"You look like you could use a rest. Ya wan' us to take ya to yer comrades?" Chu asked looking at me curiously. I always knew that Chu and Rinku weren't bad guys, but if felt so strange to be treated so well by them. Chu was actually pretty cool when he wasn't covered in the smell of alcohol. At the moment, he had had a few drinks, but he wasn't overbearingly drunk. I looked up at him and shook my head.

"No. I'm going to find the bastard who did this and he's gonna learn what happens when you touch a woman who doesn't like to be touched," I growled cracking my knuckles.

"Hang on there. Your not ready t' move," Chu said making sure I didn't stand up. He pointed at my forehead and continued, "Tha's a nice gash ya got there. It'd be better if ya allowed us t' walk ya back."

"I guess I'm not in any position to argue," I sighed gingerly rubbing my neck. I looked at Rinku and said, "Exactly how long has it been since the match with Yusuke and Chu?"

"Uh…" Rinku's brow furrowed and he thought about it for a moment. Then he smiled and snapped his fingers saying, "Well, right about now is the next match for you guys!"

"That means its only Yusuke, Kuwabara, and the Masked Fighter against the other three," I muttered under my breath for a moment. Then I smiled and said, "How about you two help me find the bastard who threw me over the cliff. I'll let ya watch his beat down if you want."

"Let's go, Chu!" Rinku smirked as Chu smiled.

"Right-o, mate!" Chu said as he stood up. He then quickly, but gently picked me up and placed me on his back. Before I could say anything else, we all took off and I nearly freaked at how fast we were going. It wasn't near as fast as when Hiei ran, but after just coming to, it was a little too fast for me. I held my head and stayed quiet as we ran though. I didn't have a right to complain. They were helping me so I let my discomfort slide.

As we ran for a while Rinku jumped beside us and handed me a small bottle. I looked at him in surprise and he smiled saying, "This should give you just a little power boost. It won't last long, but it should help you out a bit for a fun fight."

"More like an unfair fight. But I'm in no mood to fight fair. So, I'll take it with gratitude. Thank you," I smirked already planning what I was going to use it for. Rinku noticed the evil intent and nodded before continuing our run in silence.

"There!" Rinku called after a while and we stopped right in front of the demon that caught me off guard. I slid off Chu's back and walked forward wiping some blood off the front of my face. He didn't stand one chance against me while I had Chu and Rinku to help me out. There was no way he'd manage to get away from this one.

"Nice to see you again," I said stepping in front of him with an emotionless face.

"Not dead yet? Too bad. I was actually feeling in a better mood too," the demon smirked bringing out a long staff. He spun it in his hands and smiled at me dangerously. He laughed and said, "You just ruined my good mood by coming back a live. Although, now I have every right to have a little fun because you came back alive. Prepare for one battle you're going to regret into the afterlife."

"Listen. I'm pissed at the moment and you're the scapegoat. Have fun," I said suddenly lunging forward and kneeing him hard in the gut. I balled my fists together and slammed them under his jaw to send him flying into the air. I jumped into the air after him and brought my fists back to create fireballs. I felt a little fire flicker inside my chest and I began pelting fireball after fireball into his chest. I stopped and watched him crash to the ground in flames. I landed back in front of Chu and Rinku who were staring in surprise at what just happened.

"You go get 'im, Rin!" Rinku shouted jumping up in enjoyment of the fight.

"I say she's right pissed. This fella don' stand a chance," Chu said as I ran forward and began a battle of bloody knuckles with demon. I had knocked his staff to the ground nearby when I sent him into the air and I was doing everything I could to keep him away from it. I didn't want him gaining an edge over me since his size was already enough of one. He was around Chu's size and quite frankly I didn't want to go against him when he had a weapon in his reach.

Finally my fist grazed his and offset it so it would go up my arm without touching me. My hand instead slammed into his nose and we all heard a very satisfying crack. I smirked and kneed him in the gut again causing him to fall to his knees. I thought about something for a moment and walked over to pick the guy's staff off the ground. I moved back in front of him and said, "Alright, I want some answers about Morte and you're going to tell me. So listen to the questions 'cause I don't like to repeat myself."

"And why could I tell you anything?" the demon hissed back at me hatefully.

"Cause I broke your nose, misplaced one of your ribs into your lungs, have your staff, and two demons over there willing to be my backup. You're at a disadvantage," I replied calmly without emotion.

"Bitch," he replied through the blood come out of his nose.

WHACK!!

"Would you like to try again?" I said after smacking him in the head with the staff. Chu and Rinku snickered behind me and sounded like they would burst into laughter at any second.

"Wench."

WHACK!

"You know I could stand here all day and do this, but I don't really want to. I have somewhere else I'd like to be. So we'll make this easy. Where is Morte when she's not watching the fights?" I said looking at my nails in disinterest for a moment. I looked at him as the demon looked me in the eyes.

"Worthless twerp."

WHACK! WHACK!

"You know every word you say that isn't answering my questions in going to cost you. You think you'd learn after four hits to the head with your own weapon. Pretty embarrassing too since the two behind me can barely keep themselves from laughing at this. So why don't you just tell me what I want to know and you're spared anymore embarrassment. Deal?" I asked looking at the staff as I spoke.

"Pathetic little slut," the demon smirked with a horrible smile on his face.

WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!

"Listen you ugly lookin' bastard. You can call me all the names you want. I really don't care, but I will not be degraded by someone as low as you are saying pathetic things like that. So you can either answer my questions or I can shove this staff of yours so far up your ass it'll come out of your mouth," I snarled in anger and Chu and Rinku burst into laughter behind me. I heard both of them hit the ground and turned around to see them nearly in tears for how hard they were laughing. I looked at them for a moment and then said, "I'm glad this is so entertaining to you two!"

"Hahaha! Man, that'll leave a mark!!" Rinku laughed rolling around in the dirt with laughter.

"Reminds me why crossin' paths with angry gal ge's ya in a worl' of pain!" Chu laughed completely beside himself with laughter.

"Men," I muttered turning on the demon who was getting back to his feet. I attempted to smack him away with his own staff again, snapped it in half so fast that I didn't even see what was coming. I looked at him in surprise and said, "Now…that's just unnecessary and un-cool. You didn't have to go do that."

"Get out of my face you annoying wench!" the demon roared backslapping me through the air. I flipped in the air and was sent straight into a tree trunk. It cracked and I lied there for a moment trying to understand what just happened. I pushed myself up and cracked my neck slightly.

"Ok, just for the record. Getting thrown into trees, buildings, the ground, and various other object that feel like hitting an impassable wall is not fun. In fact it hurts like hell and I'd like to know what everyone's obsession is with throwing me into those things," I said shaking my head and I stood up. I made my way back over to him and said, "Ok, so now we're going back to fist fighting. Let's go!"

We both lunged at each at the same time and went into another round of bloody knuckles. We were doing everything we could to punch the others lights out and I was doing pretty good on my own. It wasn't until Rinku started trying to help that I had the problems with fighting the guy on my own.

"Left! Left! Now duck! C'mon, Rin! Move a bit faster!" Rinku shouted from the sidelines as we went into a full out brawl. Rinku continued to try and help like he was, but I got more hits done to me than I had before. Finally, I pushed the demon far away from me and spun on Rinku.

"Just shush! No more helping! Quiet!" I hissed at him trying not to sound angry with him. He merely laughed and rubbed the back of his neck before nodding in agreement. Chu only howled with laughter and I turned back to see the demon coming at me once again. I really didn't feel like getting any unnecessary injuries before I had to fight the person from the Shadow Channelers that was meant especially for me. So, I pulled out my chakram and launched them at the guy with all the strength I could pull together. They cut into his shoulders and then came back to me in an instant. The demon looked at me in anger and I noticed the wind whipping around us violently.

"A wind demon," Chu noticed looking at the demon for a moment.

"Oh the irony!" I hissed immediately thinking about Jin at that particular point in time. Then I hooked my chakram up and said, "I wouldn't have enough control to throw around my weapons in this wind. You're just determined to make me face you in a fist fight aren't you?"

"What can I say? Fighting with your own arms as your weapons is the way I think all fighting should be. Rely on your own strength and not the durability of your weapons," the demon answered glaring at me in anger. I looked back at Chu and Rinku to shake my head.

"Are there a lot of guys like him? And they can't fall under the combat junkie category," I said indicating at Chu who laughed while Rinku only shrugged. I went back to looking at my enemy and said, "Well, I'm getting tired of this so let's end it!"

I launched myself forward again and laid a flurry of furious punches into him. I made sure I threw a little bit of my fire into them and was sure he suffered for trying to kill me back at the cliff. After a few minutes of that I kicked him in the side and sent him flying into the roof of the arena.

"Waaa!! What was that?!" Koto's voice shouted from the arena as the demon fell onto the ground beside the ring. I quickly perched myself on the rooftop and looked down to see him getting up and all my teammates staring at him in surprise. Koto stared for a moment and said, "It's the honorary team member for Team Ichigaki! What is he doing here?! I thought he was unable to battle today! Why did he suddenly come crashing in from above?"

"_You better be watching this Morte! Because I'm tired of you treating me like I'm a minimal threat!"_ I shouted telepathically downing the bottle in a second and calling forth a fireball to my hand. The flames turned bright blue and I threw it down on his head before he moved. Flames engulfed him and in mere seconds they were gone and the demon went with them. That was one fight down and one more to go for me.

"Oh my gosh! The honorary team member was just engulfed in blue flames! Who did that?!" Koto shouted looking up to see me standing there. I felt the small power boost beginning to fade and jumped down before I fell down the most painful way possible. I landed softly where my teammates were and lounged back against the wall for a moment in silence. I wasn't exactly sure how the change in energy would affect me and I had to make sure nothing would happen.

"Whoa! Rin, what was that?!" Yusuke shouted looking at me in surprise.

"Don't ask. That was a one time thing, so don't ask about it anymore," I replied looking around to see exactly when I came in. The demons were shouting about the humans still wining and how one of us had to die now causing me to roll my eyes slightly. I looked down at the ground and felt my throat seem like it was closing up. I slid down the wall a bit and closed my eyes halfway. Hiei suddenly appeared beside me and I sensed him looking over my throat and head.

"What did you get yourself into?" Hiei asked quietly.

"Well…I had my fight, but it just wasn't for everyone to see. Good thing cause I cheated. You saw the very end of it all though. Those blue flames took care of my opponent," I answered opening my eyes and smirking.

"Demons don't cheat. We fight to our own rules," Hiei answered pulling me to my feet slightly against my will. We went over to the rest of the group and noticed Koto attempting to call the place to order. That poor fox was way in over her head. I personally wondered if she was paid enough for this job.

"Quiet everyone! Settle down! The second round matches are on the board!" Koto announced as we all looked to the board. I froze as I realized what was about to happen and began sweating. Genkai and Hiei noticed my change in attitude and instantly I felt their eyes boring holes into me. They took one look at the board and spun on me with irritated eyes. Crap! Telling them I knew what was coming was a BAD idea!! This is exactly why I should've kept it secret!

"_You saw this coming, didn't you?!"_ they both snapped at me in anger.

"_I-I-I'm sorry!!"_ I said cowering away from them as Yusuke turned his anger on the announcer. The demons went into an uproar and all my comrades began thinking about the situation we were in. I held my throat for a moment and thought about the new opponent. Morte surely knew I wasn't able to go full out and this new one could be just tricky enough to put me between a rock and a hard place. If anything happened that would kill me, Yusuke could be put in danger. I felt a bit better now that Genkai and Hiei knew what was happening, but I was still worried about what would happen.

"You call this a tournament?! Feh! It's just a grinder and we're the meat! Well, bring it on!" Yusuke shouted as the demons broke into a new chorus of "kill." We stood calmly waiting for the opponents and Koto announced them in. In a whirl there stood our six opponents. I instantly looked at the outfits and saw the one that didn't belong in the group. A star was the one symbol that didn't belong from the pictures I saw before and I sensed that his aura was different from the ones I should've expected. Yusuke leaned forward and continued, "Our new opponents, huh? Show-offs."

"You have absolutely no idea," I muttered pressing the palm of my hand against my forehead. I was thinking more of Jin at the moment more than anyone.

Yusuke began musing over what was happening and moved to the middle for the captain meeting. Jin blew off his cloak and went to the middle as well. An uproar ensued and I felt a chill hit my spine. Jin and Yusuke were deciding the way the fights would go and I watched Hiei out of the corner of my eye. He was just about to get put in that force field medic station with Genkai. That meant that I was kind of on my own. Yusuke had to take care of Jin. Kurama would be knocked around a bit and Kuwabara was barely even able to be counted. I didn't have the two people that always seemed to make me fight more. Genkai seemed to encourage me to fight to the end as a teacher should and well…I wanted to prove to Hiei that I wasn't dead weight. With both of them sitting it out I had to be ready. Needless to say I was freaking out and things don't ever seem good when I'm freaking out.

Before anything else could be done though the speaker crackled and soon a voice came over saying, "As scheduling has compelled Team Urameshi to fight two rounds in a row, management has ordered that a medical check be conducted on the participants. Please stand by." It was like they had canceled all the bloodbaths to come because the demons went into such an uproar that I covered my ears for a moment. It was such a headache that I almost broke into song of relief when they quieted down.

The woman came over to us and pointed at Hiei and Genkai saying, "You and you. Come with me, please." Then she turned towards me and looked like she was ready to call me over as well. I sent her a death glare and placed my hands on my chakram so only she could see what I planned to do. If I changed any part of the storyline on my own free will it was going to be her taking away Hiei and Genkai if she planned to call me back as well.

"_Call me with you and your head will roll across the ground at our feet. Go ahead and take those two because I agree that they need to rest. Otherwise, you will die. You got that, wench?" _I hissed telepathically causing her to cringe. It was like an unwritten code between women to know that whatever was said was meant. She knew that I really meant what I said. So she went off and they reluctantly followed. I turned my attention to Yusuke and Kurama saying, "Listen. I already know which one is the honorary fighter meant for me and I know that he'd going to fight first. You have to let me go up and take him on. If he defeats me, I want Kurama up there next and I'll be sure to leave on big gash on him somewhere. You have to burry a plant in him for a quick end. We're short on backup and need to plan this before-"

I stopped suddenly and felt the fire that flickered inside me before sparking and almost filling my whole insides up. I spun to look at what happened and noticed the force field separating us from them. As soon as I met Hiei's eyes I felt the fire flicker again and then roar to life. At first I was confused by what I was feeling and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. The force field was effectively barring the effect of Hiei's Jagan on me. Instead of being suppressed by its power, I was letting the seal weaken and the fire I was feeling was my strength surging through me. I smirked and balled my fist at the renewed energy flowing through me. This was going a little bit better than I thought it was.

"Hiei and the Masked Fighter have been declared medically unfit to fight! They will be restricted to the sidelines until give a clean bill of health!" the voice crackled over us once again and this time I didn't feel as worried as I was before. Although, I was still a bit worried.

"What the-" Yusuke nearly roared as he spun on Koto pointing accusingly at her, "This is nothin' but a dirty ruse! What're you tryin' t' pull?!"

Koto began spluttering her answer, "Me? Nothing! I'm just the Emcee! These things are entirely out of my hands!!"

I walked into the ring behind Yusuke and stopped just behind him. I placed my hand on his shoulder and smirked saying, "Calm down, Yusuke. This isn't going to be as bad as we thought it'd be. These fools thinking that rigging the game against us will rattle our cages. Let's show them how adaptable we can be."

Yusuke looked at me for a moment and then broke into a smile as well. We both knew we were going to have to pull overtime to get this, but we weren't going to let each other roll over and take it. So, he smiled giving me a thumbs up and made his way off of the ring. I turned to see the cloaked figure that didn't belong there standing before me. I cracked my knuckles and he threw off his cloak. Shadows spun around him cryptically and I noticed his pitch black hair seemed to blend into it. I stared at his golden eyes and saw that he looked as human as I did. If it wasn't for his demonic energy ripping through the air around me I would've though he was human.

"Alright! The first fight of the second round is about to begin. The participants are Tenchi and Rin! Alright fighters! FIGHT!" Koto shouted running out of the way as Tenchi threw a wave of shadows at me. I merely smiled and ran forward without budging an inch.

"And the fight starts out with Tenchi throwing an unwelcoming wave of shadows at Rin and she's running straight into it. I dunno what possesses her to make a choice like that and I can only imagine how much its going to hurt her!" Koto shouted as I pulled one of my chakram from my hip. I threw it forward and used it to block the very tip of the attack. I propelled myself over it with the momentum and flipped so I was hovering over him. I unhooked the other weapon and slammed it down toward his head along with the other one. I watched as I landed and saw him disappear in a cloud of shadows as the chakram would've hit him. I figured that the demon would've tried to come behind me and launched myself into the air to keep that from happening.

Unfortunately he was expecting that and reappeared on the ground directly under me. I watched as he threw a large wave of shadows again and this time he sent multiple attacks. I covered myself in fire and went straight through the first wave to go head on against the second. Little did I know that the first one didn't fully disappear and instead wrapped itself around my body. The second wave wrapped around me completely and the last one covered that one as well. I couldn't see anything and had no idea what was going on until I slammed into the ground.

It was bad enough that I was in pure darkness, but I suddenly was unable to move. A constricting feeling hit my body and I realized the shadows were squeezing me to death. I tried to breathe, but couldn't and began thrashing around as much as I could. I felt as though I was being smothered and couldn't stand it as my claustrophobia was hitting me once again. I took a deep breath and shouted loudly as flames erupted around my entire body. The shadows were dispersed and I was left on my hands and knees gasping for air.

"Damn…you…you…son of…a bitch," I gasped with my chest heaving.

"Did you like that? My shadows were doing everything they could to crush every bone in your body and they cut off all your oxygen supply. I'm impressed that you managed to keep calm enough to figure a way out of it," Tenchi laughed as he cracked his neck loudly.

"Calm…who's calm? I'm pissed!" I shouted lunging forward calling fire to my fists. Tenchi couldn't move out of the way in time and I slugged the hell out of him. I kept pounding on him like Siren did to me and didn't let up until I dropkicked him out of nowhere just because I felt like it. I jumped away and snatched up my chakram to keep them in my reach. This guy outmatched me in every aspect, but if I kept my guard up and got a bit of luck, I'd win it all.

"Those shadows looked like they were trying to devour Rin and she doesn't seem too happy about it. She unleashed a ruthless stream of punches on Tenchi and even let her fire cover his body. That looked like it had to hurt folks and I can only imagine what Tenchi's going to do in response!" Koto shouted as I watched her ears twitch in excitement. I couldn't help but smile and watch her for a moment before turn to see Tenchi get up. Burns covered his entire body and there were small flames that hadn't yet gone out.

"Heh. I'll admit that I'm impressed. I guess I'll have to use these," Tenchi reached into his large jacket and pulled out some strange claw-like looking weapons. He attached them to his wrists and instantly I was reminded on a black panther. And that couldn't mean anything good for me.

My shoulders slumped for a moment and I muttered, "Oh dear god."

"You realize now what you're up against. You better have a will written up because you're not leaving this match alive," Tenchi said scratching the blades together in a psychotic way.

"This is going to suck so badly," I muttered shifting into a well balanced fighting stance. I took a deep breath and made a plan to watch the shadows that followed him around. I ran forward and watched carefully as Tenchi met me halfway. We began fighting and sparks flew around us because of the clashing metal. We moved at an insanely quick pace and there were a few times when we parried the other backwards farther than they meant to. We jumped at one another's throats when this happened and around three minutes into it we were cover in various bleeding gashes. We were ruthless and didn't have a sympathetic bone for the other. We just wanted to get out of the ring alive and if that meant killing our opponents to get through it, we'd do it.

"I'm tired of this!" Tenchi said suddenly disappearing and throwing me off guard. Before I knew what had happened, he grabbed me by my hair and yanked my head back so he could put his blades against my neck. I froze and watched his reflection smirk in the metal of his claws. He was smug and triumphant at catching me like he had.

"Wow! Tenchi moved faster than I could watch and now has Rin pinned with his weapons at her throat! We may see more blood in this round than we had anticipated!" Koto announced as the crowd roared in excitement.

"This is where you die. Morte will be more than happy to pay me for killing you. You're very annoying for her you know. Everything she's planning relies on what happens to you. You can upset the balance of her entire plan and killing you here safely puts her fears to rest. And I get a decent price for all this. The only one who gets the short end of the stick is you," Tenchi hissed into my ear as I struggled to keep my breathing regulated.

"Rin!" Yusuke shouted as I glanced over at him in concern. I closed my eyes and tried to think about what I was going to do. Curse my long hair. If it weren't for my hair I wouldn't have gotten caught as I did.

"Any last words, my little wolf?" Tenchi whispered quietly as I bit my lip.

"Yeah. I gotta thank you for showing me a weak point that I have to change. This isn't over yet," I said suddenly throwing my chakram up toward his face. I had no intention of hitting him, but instead was aiming for right where his hand was. He let go and I fell forward off balance. He took to a safe distance and I straightened up in surprise that he believed the bluff. I couldn't have reached him without slitting my own throat and he still didn't keep me there. I straightened up and grabbed my hair back as much as I could with one hand. I looked at him and said, "I'm going to take care of this problem here and now."

With that I quickly sliced through my hair with my chakram and let it fall to the ground at my feet. I shook my hair for a moment and saw that it only slightly fell in my face. It wouldn't get in my way with the fight anymore. So, I turned to him and said, "Let's continue shall we?"

"How odd! Rin cut her hair so Tenchi couldn't grab it and keep her in one spot anymore. Now she's just waiting for him to attack her again! This is one demoness that I will never understand!" Koto shouted as Tenchi began clanging his metal claws together. I stared at him for a moment and then found that my eyes were focusing in and out. I swayed on my feet for a moment and realized that there was a shadow attached to my eyes. I tried to get rid off it, but pain suddenly burst over my entire body. I coughed and realized that Tenchi was attempting to shred me apart with his claws. Knowing I didn't have much time I tried to call my fire to my assistance, but instead I felt lightning spark and flow around me violently. Tenchi was sent dodging away and my nerves were tingling from the burst of electricity. I looked down at my arm and noticed that along with looking slightly burned, the grew tint from the Saint Beast Castle was coming back.

"Shit!" I said holding my arm trying to think of what I can do to stop it from spreading again.

"Rin! You're arm!" Yusuke shouted in concern as I quickly stopped the electricity around me. I looked over at him in pain and nodded. He kicked his foot against the ring wall and shouted, "Whatever you do don't use anymore lightning! And maybe your fire! It looks burned!"

"Perceptive punk," I muttered glancing over at Hiei from the corner of my eye.

"_Burned? As in the arm you used to heal mine?"_ Hiei hissed quietly at me.

"_I have no idea what you're talking about," _I replied turning my attention back to Tenchi. I ran forward once again with my chakram and surprised him. I got two good hits to his jaw and sent him flying into the air with a third uppercut. I stepped back and launched myself back into the air after him. He managed to get himself right in the air and we began punching at one another in an attempt to gain the advantage. I was sure to avoid his sword like claws and he made sure that I couldn't call out another element in the fight. Fighting him was tiring and he thought like I did. That only made it worse and I had to continually change my tactics to keep from getting cocky.

Suddenly shadows burst from his hands and covered my entire body again. I coughed in surprise and felt myself slammed against the ground. Before I had to get out though the shadows receded and I stared up to see Tenchi flying down on me. I stared up in surprise and didn't move in time before his claws dug deep into my stomach. Blood spurted out of my mouth and pain shot through my body. Tenchi dug his weapons deeper into my stomach and I heard my spine actually digging into the ring under my body. Then jumped away to leave me there to bleed.

"Whoa! Tenchi just planted his weapon into Rin's stomach and now blood is just pooling around her! This seems to be the end of this battle and Rin doesn't seem to stand much more of a chance," Koto called as I lied on the ground trying not to black out from what just happened.

"Time to die," Tenchi said covering my body in his suffocating shadows again. I couldn't move and only closed my eyes to accept what was happening. There was nothing I could do against his shadows and that's why I figured that my time was officially up.

"_If you give up that easily you'll only prove my point of being dead weight,"_ Hiei said calmly. I felt my heart pound guiltily against my chest and knew he was right.

"_What do you want me to do? I can't move and I'm bleeding profusely. I can't do anything,"_ I stated flatly.

"_Then what was my sealing your powers away?"_ Hiei growled at me in annoyance. I sensed he was a little angry at my giving up the fight and I frankly didn't blame him. Just submitting to death was pathetic…and that was something I just wasn't willing to be for any fool who worked for Morte.

"DAMN YOU!" I suddenly shouted as the flame inside my body exploded into the air around me. All the power Hiei sealed inside of me broke through the seal and burned all the shadows wrapping around me. Then they moved out and I was on my feet before I knew what was happening. I was staring directly into Tenchi's eyes and it was clear he wasn't expecting me to get back up. Koto fled to the edge of the ring and jumped out as the untamed flames moved where they wanted to go. I thought about it for a second and realized that I had control over them, but liked how they moved around on their own. So, I left them as they were.

"Just as I got to six in the count, Rin jumped back up and sent flames all around the ring! This is a surprising turn around and I can't wait to see how she comes back to match Tenchi's attack!" Koto announced from her safe place near Luka and her force field keeping my comrades. I looked around slowly and noticed that absolute silence enveloped the audience. None of them believed what was happening and I realized I had their undivided attention.

"You know…I'm really not the best fighter. I get through a lot of things by luck and mistakes. I can't even hope to stand up near my comrades and I often don't have the determination to stay on my feet that they do. Those shadows would've killed me before I knew any of them. Now, they just really piss me off!" I roared as the flames turned on the demon and nearly engulfed him. I glanced down at my wound and noticed that the bleeding had stopped temporarily. If I was going to get this job done right I had to do it fast. I tightly gripped my chakram and all the flames died around us. Tenchi thought this was a good thing, but Hiei, Kurama, and Genkai knew differently. I could tell by the looks I saw in their eyes.

"You think you can beat me?!" Tenchi roared sending knives out of his sleeves at me. I stood perfectly still and all of the weapons grazed by leaving small cuts in my skin. After they flew past me, I held my weapons over my head and felt my power focusing itself for this final attack.

"Actually, I do! Hell's Rings!" I shouted launching the chakram at his head. They burst into flames and instantly sliced right through him like butter. They came back and went through him again and did this a few times before he was surely dead. Then they returned to me and I hooked them onto my hips. Tenchi fell to the ground and I stood there in awe. I seriously just beat the living hell out of that guy on my own strength. Hell yeah! Koto began the count and when she hit ten, I fell to my knees in relief. I survived and the power that was racing through me was under my control because of the people who helped me. All of the Underworld Detectives and Genkai and everyone else. I had gotten so much stronger thanks to the people I trusted. I smiled and decided that when this was all over that I was going to properly thank them all…which reminded me that Yusuke still owed me dinner from the Saint Beast thing. I could've laughed at myself for remembering that, but immediately stopped as my next opponent jumped into the ring before me.

"Shit…I forgot it was elimination…shit," I quietly hissed looking at him as I stood up. I watched as he pulled off his cloak and I said, "Gama, master of ritual adornment…I'm screwed."

"Indeed. You know me! As you should!" he laughed as Koto slowly made her way forward to stand near us.

"Ok!" Koto raised her hand over her head and shouted, "Fight two of round two! The participants are Gama and Rin! FIGHT!"

"I won't even have to use my true weapons against you. Tenchi was sure that he beat you as close to your death as you were going to get. All I have to do is finish the job," Gama said as he began moving toward me calmly.

"This power better last just a little bit longer," I said jumping back and dashing to the side. Gama instantly followed me and I tried to grab my chakram. He was on me in an instant and was beating the living mess out of me. I tried to get away, but he kept pounding and my power was slowly slipping away. Soon Gama started using his claw like hand leaving more slash marks on me than there already was.

"Time for you to die!" Gama said drawing his arm back and slamming my hard in the stomach where the wound was. I fell back in pain and landed on the ground outside the ring. I glanced over out of the corner of my eye to see Genkai and Hiei looking at me from their prison.

"Rin has been knocked out of bounds. Starting the count! One! Two!" Koto ran over to the side where we could both see her and continued the count. I struggled to push myself up and got halfway up to notice the wound was bleeding badly once again. I coughed and knew that I was in pretty bad shape now.

"_Stay down!"_ Hiei and Genkai's voices suddenly echoed through my head commandingly. I froze and glanced over at them to see they were serious.

"_Getting up now and taking even more of a beating will prove nothing and put you in worse condition! Just stay down and take the loss!" _Genkai ordered as Hiei nodded in agreement.

"_You've already proved that you're not a deadweight. Stay down,"_ Hiei agreed in monotone. I thought about it for a moment and fell back against the ground. It was fine with me that I didn't need to get up and quite frankly I wasn't sure I could. My entire body felt like it was getting heavier and I was pretty sure the blood loss wasn't helping that. So I closed my eyes for a moment and just lied on the ground content not to move.

"Ten! Gama wins!" Koto shouted raising her hand above her head.

"Ren!" Yusuke and Kurama called as they quickly ran over and bent down beside me. Yusuke helped me sit up and Kurama looked over the wound.

"I'm fine guys. He just hit me the wrong way. I think I might be able to stop the bleeding in a minute or so," I said quietly trying to get them to focus on something besides my wounds.

"I'm going to fight next, but before I do I want you to take these and press them into the wound," Kurama said pulling out some strange leaves from his pocket. He handed them to me and continued, "They'll help you out with the pain and the bleeding." Then Kurama turned to Yusuke and said quickly, "I'd like to think I could take them all, but I get the feeling that's not in the cards. I'll engage the, get them to reveal their strategies. The rest may be up to you."

"Thanks…Kurama," I whispered as he stood and took to the ring against his opponent. After nodding to his friend, Yusuke helped me to my feet and we moved back to where Kuwabara was. He set me up against the wall to be able to see Kurama's match. I closed my eyes for a moment and said, "Good luck, Kurama."

"You had an awesome fight, Rin. It'll be alright for you to rest and let us take care of the rest of this," Yusuke said looking down into my face.

"Kinda sad don't cha think? I wasted all my energy in one go and you two have to split up the rest between you," I said looking down at my wound. I rolled my eyes and continued, "I used all the power I worked so hard to get and still ended up getting my ass handed to me on a silver platter. Everyone in this tournament is in a whole other league and I have to admit. It's depressing."

"Nah. Morte handpicked all your opponents. It makes sense that they'd give you a run for your money. But you've come out on top so far. That means you're in our league and you don't have to keep feeling like you're not as good as us," Yusuke said giving me a confident thumbs up.

"Thanks, Yusuke. It's good to have some allies like you guys," I said smiling and turning to look at Koto standing between Kurama and Gama.

"_Now I see why you had me seal away your energy when we were training. You were preparing yourself for a time like that when you'd need it,"_ Hiei said to me in monotone.

"_Hehe. Yeah, but I didn't think it'd be this exhausting. I still got a bit to learn and that especially means conserving energy when I make a huge outburst like that. I just went into survival mode without thinking,"_ I replied back quietly.

"_Hn. You'll learn with more experience,"_ Hiei answered and then dropped the connection. I couldn't help but smile a bit and relax as I held the herbs Kurama gave me against the wound.

"Ok, you two. This fight is ready to go. This round is a fight between Gama and Kurama! BEGIN!!" Koto announced stepping back a bit since all the fights so far ended up with her having to retreat to safety at some point or another.

"I wonder…what Morte's doing right about now," I muttered to myself and I slowly scanned the area in hopes of finding some kind of evidence that she was nearby. Of course I figured that she was highly experienced in hiding herself away so I didn't even bother getting my hopes up about finding her. It figured that it was right then I saw her standing on the top of the arena staring down at me.

--

_**ME:**_** Well, I hope you liked the chapter and I had to add a little extra fighting outside the storyline. I hope it's good and if not I'll just stick with the story a little more. I just wanted a little bit more fighting because I haven't been able to update in so long.**

_**Hiei:**_** (finished off his fourth bowl of ice cream) It was slightly entertaining. Especially the whole fight in front of Chu and Rinku.**

_**ME:**_** That would probably be the ice cream talking because Hiei complimenting ME doesn't happen. Anyway, I think its time to cut you off from anymore ice cream and-**

_**Hiei:**_** (holds empty bowl out demandingly) More. Now.**

_**ME:**_** (sweatdrop) Yes sir. (gives more ice cream to him) Well, I hope you liked the chapter and I hope to see some reviews on this! I'm trying to update as much as I can, but there's some things going on that I have to do. I will do everything I can! Review please and I will hope to have another update soon! Peace!**


	15. Beatings

_**ME:**_** Well, that was a fun last chapter and I think the entire fight scenes were well received!! So, I guess it's ok to have some fun. I was in a really down mood for a few days and I looked over all the reviews for this story. Let me tell you, they made me feel A LOT better. So thank you to all the people who've reviewed! You make me want to continue this story! Oh and I plan on continuing this story for the entire series. I was beginning to wonder if you all would follow me that long cause that's what I planned to do. I hope I'll have as many great reviews then as I do now!**

_**Hiei:**_** Apparently many people enjoy your fight scenes. **

_**ME:**_** Well, I guess a lot of people are like me when it comes to those kinda fighting scenes. So, I guess I'll have some fun with those.**

_**Hiei:**_** As long as you don't lose the story or your ability to keep your readers reading.**

_**ME:**_** Yeah, yeah. I know Mr. Pessimistic. I know. Why do you go back to eating your Sweet Snow for a while?**

_**Hiei:**_** ……(mutters something)**

_**ME:**_** I did NOT just hear what I think I heard come out of YOUR mouth (glares at him).**

_**Hiei:**_** (mutters quietly) I ate it all.**

_**ME:**_** …YOU ATE MY SHERBET?!**

_**Hiei:**_** I might've. **

_**ME:**_** COME HERE! (goes to tackle him, but he dodges out of the way). GET BACK HERE HIEI JAGANSHI!! I don't own Yu-Yu Hakusho, but at the moment I own a slight annoyance that Hiei ate my favorite frozen treat. I'll be back and he MIGHT follow. Chapter start (runs off to find Hiei and force him to buy more sherbet for me.)**

**--**

**Oh and I have an answer to the question that I've been asked for a while now about who Rin Ishida really is. I would love to tell everyone that's she entirely based off of my but that's not entirely true. She is me when it comes to the basics like what she likes, her fears, her memories, and little things like that, but overall she's who I want to be. I don't mean powers and all. That'd be cool though. She's an overall better person than I am and I'm better at writing changes in myself than actually putting them to work. So yeah, Rin Ishida is me, but a way better version who's a much better person. I hope no one minds that I put in this little rant, but I had to answer that question so everyone could see.**

_--_

_**Chapter 15: Beatings**_

"I wonder…what Morte's doing right about now," I muttered to myself and I slowly scanned the area in hopes of finding some kind of evidence that she was nearby. Of course I figured that she was highly experienced in hiding herself away so I didn't even bother getting my hopes up about finding her. It figured that it was right then I saw her standing on the top of the arena staring down at me.

"_That was quite the show, little wolf. You even cut your hair. How surprising,"_ Morte snickered looking down at me. She made a mocking face at me and continued, _"So, you took quite a beating and yet you're still alive. How disappointing and exciting at the same time. I may have to make your future fights a little more dangerous then. You're just proving to be more entertaining than I had anticipated."_

"_Go ahead! I'm not going down without a fight and I'm not letting my teammates down!"_ I snarled angrily glaring at her. I continued glaring and snapped, _"And if you're so entertained by this then I have one thing to say to you. Get a life because you clearly don't even have an idea as to what it looks like."_

"_Hm, pretty annoyed aren't we? Alright, little wolf. I'll leave you be. Heal well,"_ Morte smirked as she disappeared in a cloud of darkness. I hissed in disgust and looked at my wounds for a moment. I really hated that annoying witch.

"_Don't hate the demoness. Just plot your revenge instead,"_ Hiei said quietly causing me to snort in laughter. I began snickering uncontrollably despite the pain in my side and I looked over at him. He seemed slightly entertained and we returned our attention back to the fight in better moods.

Gama had pulled out his paintbrushes and was putting the paint on his body in various ways to symbolize different things. This was a genuine sight for me. To imagine a demon using his paint in the way the humans used it was pretty interesting since they all had a strong contempt for humans. I was interested and maybe more so than I should've been considering I knew what they could do. I sensed his power rising and he said, "I use ritual body art known for its potent magic. Humans use it in religious ceremonies, and as cosmetics, in daily life. But I'll show you much more than that! Wait until you see my special war paint!!"

"Gama has adorned his entire body with ritual patterns!! And they seem to be boosting his demonic aura!!" Koto shouted as Gama suddenly lunged forward at Kurama with intense speed. The fox barely managed to dodge out of the way and Kurama began calculating what he was going to do in this fight. He didn't get far however before Gama appeared on his side and sent him back-flipping away from the guy's punch. Kurama did everything he could to watch Gama's movements, but Gama was moving too fast and the red-haired fox could only dodge from his attacks. They went into a flurry of movement and I watched in awe from where I was sitting. Even if I was in good condition, I didn't think there was anyway in hell I'd be able to stand against that! Kurama's usual strategy of feeling out an opponent wasn't going to work with Gama because he was just to fast. Kurama didn't have time to calculate the perfect block or counter against his attacks.

"See what you've taken on?! Let's get this over with!" Gama shouted as he lunged at Kurama once again. The plant-user took to dodging once again and Gama reached to his side and opened his paint holders once again. The scent of his strange paints hit my nose and I had to shake my head for a moment after smelling them. They were strong and nearly overpowered my senses. No wonder why they worked so well when Gama used them on his opponents. Gama whipped his paintbrush from the canister and then snapped his wrist around Kurama's left ankle. The second he hit the ground, Kurama looked in surprise at his leg which now felt a hell of a lot heavier. Gama began cackling as Kurama attempted to get moving again and said, "Heh, heh…feels like it's made of lead, doesn't it? Harder to move now, huh? My art can also cause damage!"

"Gama's demonstrated an artful curse! By the looks of it, he's got Kurama on the ropes!" the female foxed called as she leaned in closer to the action in front of her.

"I wouldn't count on it," I muttered as I felt the wound on my stomach begin to close a bit. I looked down and noticed that the herbs were acting on my fire healing and were slowly working around the edges of the skin to heal it. I stared in surprise for a moment and noticed that all the muscle tissue and everything else Tenchi cut through was healed. Now it was taking care of the outside. I took a surprised breath and heard satisfied chuckling inside my head.

"_Good. I was beginning to worry that the herbs weren't taking the effect they needed to. They healed the inside of your wound on their own and now use the little energy you can give to heal the outside. You should be able to walk somewhat by the end of all the fights. Mind you, you'll still be badly injured, but you won't lose anymore blood this way,"_ Kurama informed me as he began trying to move once again.

"_T-thanks, Kurama," _I gasped looking at the wound once again. Then I took a glance at the various cuts all over my body and saw that they hadn't changed much at all. It didn't bother me too much though. As long as I didn't have this huge hole in my stomach I was good.

"Gama's ink seeps through clothing and adheres to the skin, forming a receiver for the curses! Once marked, the victim's trapped!" one of Gama's teammates said as he rushed in front of Kurama with his double paintbrushes. Before Kurama could do anything at all, Gama rushed by him and painted his arms and other leg in those chain looking marks.

"I've got you now! Shackle paint!" Gama proudly laughed as Kurama nearly froze when all the weight hit him. It was clear by the look on his face that he wasn't expecting the sudden change in the way his body was feeling and I instantly could tell that he was thinking of a quick way to defend himself when he'd need it. Gama didn't notice this look and began to gloat, "I've just robbed your limbs of all movement!! It's like having a hundred and fifty-four pound weights locked on each arm and leg! How's it feel carrying the weight of four men?! Hard to wield your much vaunted weapons now!!"

"It's just gone from bad to worse for Kurama! I'd say the game's over folks!" Koto shouted into the microphone as the crowd began going ballistic at the thought of one of us dying. I merely snickered at what was going to come next.

"It's a good thing that this tournament doesn't go by what she says anyway. Otherwise we'd be deprived of some good fights," I smirked as Yusuke looked at me strangely for a moment. I looked up at him and said, "What?"

"You've changed…I guess I'm just noticing it," Yusuke replied rubbing the back of his neck for a moment. I looked at him for a moment and he continued, "You were always trying to sit back and watch the fights before. Like when I went against Hiei and then there was the whole Saint Beast Castle thing. You were happy to just sit back and add your say about what was happening. It's only just now that you started actually fighting and kicking butt as you went."

"I guess I've just been hanging around guys for way to long, huh? All you guys wanting to fight non-stop must've rubbed off on me," I shrugged looking around to see Hiei was smirking at me. I cocked my eyebrow and stared at him. _"What are you thinking over there?"_

"_Nothing. Except he's right. You've changed a bit,"_ Hiei answered before turning his attention back to the match. I knew that I wasn't going to get anything else out of him and looked to see Gama running at Kurama once again.

"Heh…not bothering to struggle? Resigned to your fate? Then the match is mine!" Gama was just about to lunge and I noticed the whip curling out of Kurama's hair. Kurama's eyes were cold and completely calm as he was manipulating his weapon through his hair. I was amazed as I watch it carefully position itself to be used the second Kurama needed it and just as Gama looked like he was going to finish Kurama off he flicked the whip at him with the slightest effort. It was as if Kurama was using his hands to control the whip and it cut through Gama's skin like he was paper. Blood spurted out of his wounds and Kurama's expression didn't even change as Gama stared at him in complete surprise. The demon gasped in pain, "What? I'm hit!!"

"I'm not limited to what my arms and legs can do in a fight!" Kurama said looking at him like the badass he was at the current moment. The look he gave Gama out of the corner of his eyes made me shake my head and think that there was no way in heck I'd willingly put myself in Gama's shoes. Actually, I wouldn't willingly put myself in anyone's shoes if they went against Kurama…or anyone of the group. That really was just a death sentence. Either way it went though it was amazing watching them all fight. They pushed ahead through everything. It really was inspiring to me.

"What an incredible reversal! Kurama's nailed Gama with a hair-borne whip!" Koto shouted sounding amazed.

"Well, we've seen a good bit of his control over plants. Is it really that much of a surprise?" I snorted causing Yusuke to snicker slightly beside me.

"Gluh…I was too hasty. I should've locked you down completely, however long it took," Gama wheezed as the blood began pouring out of every wound he had. I saw the color was purple and began thinking about what Gama was going to do next. I was impressed that he was strong enough to do it even though all the wounds he had on him. I knew it cost him his life, but I was still impressed. Kurama clearly respected his strength as well for what he said next.

"Don't waste your breath-or strength-talking. Release your curses and use the energy to heal yourself," Kurama said as the whip continued moving and growing around him. The thorns seemed to threateningly snap every once in a while at Gama, but no one seemed to notice.

"Heh, heh…you think…it's over? I don't!" Gama growled smirking at Kurama even though his eyes seemed to be glossing over. Gama wouldn't last much longer and I couldn't believe he was willing to just throw it away. I know that if I was in his shoes, I might've just taken off the seals and feigned falling unconscious.

"Even cursed, I'm intact. You're not. Heal yourself. Your skills are worth preserving," Kurama stated flatly as he pulled the whip back into his hair as if it never existed. Kurama knew he had won the match and there was no way in heck that Gama would pull a win from this. Little did he know that he had one more trick to play.

"You honor me!!" Gama shouted as he lunged forward with his blood pouring along the ground. He threw his first forward like he was trying to punch Kurama and the fox merely threw his form back to dodge it. He thought he was trying to get his final licks in, but Kurama failed to notice his true intentions. Gama was spreading his blood in intricate patterns across Kurama's body and was making sure he covered every inch that he needed to.

"STOP!! If you keep moving, you'll die!" Kurama shouted as Gama continued throwing punches at Kurama. Everyone thought that it was Gama's final attack, but I was the only one-besides his teammates-watching how Gama's blood was drenching Kurama. Sweat was beading at Gama's face and after throwing his bloody arms around, Gama collapsed to the ground.

"Gama's down! Starting the count!" Koto announced as I watched Gama's blood spill across the ring. I shook my head and thought about what this fighter was willing to lose for the way of the Shinobi. I shook my head and thought about what dedication all his teammates could've made to each other.

"Not that it matters…" Kurama sighed as he looked down at Gama's bloody form. No doubt he was thinking that Gama should've just forfeited his match instead of dying.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh. Heh, heh, heh, heh. It's done…" Gama said smirking with his dying strength.

"What?" Kurama asked slightly confused.

"I'm not limited to what my paintbrushes can do! Blood spatters do just as well! My ink, in fact, is my blood! Y'see, I figured defeating you might cost me my life. My…ink…has completely bound up your demonic aura!! It's the way of the Shinobi…give all for the team! My aura will linger for ten minutes after my death. Your next opponent, however…won't wait…" Gama gasped before dying on the ground as his purple blood poured around him. I closed my eyes in respect for his fighting before seeing Toya standing up. Kurama instantly knew he was in deep trouble and Koto announced that Kurama won the match.

"Well done, Gama. Ten minutes will suffice to avenge you," Toya said as he threw off the cloak to reveal himself.

"Next contestant, step forward!!"

"I appear to be in deep trouble here. I got careless, and let Gama put me right where he wanted me!!" Kurama said looking around at his arms and legs and then his torso. He glanced over at me and said telepathically, _"I don't suppose you saw this one coming too, did you?"_

"_W-w-what??" _I stammered in surprise. It took a moment to process, but I quickly realized that he knew I knew what was coming! Oh, it wasn't bad enough that Hiei nearly killed me back when we were saving Yukina when he knew that I knew! Now Kurama knows! He could find something to get me too! Curse Hiei and his loose tongue around Kurama!

"_Hiei informed me about your situation. I agreed to keep it from Yusuke and Kuwabara. You needn't worry about me getting angry or getting revenge for you not telling me. I'm not like that,"_ Kurama said quietly as he went back to thinking about his next fight.

"_T-thanks Kurama,"_ I said sweat-dropping slightly. I really was beginning to owe a little much too the Underworld Detectives and one could've even considered me in over my head.

"Next up! Toya the Ice Master!" Koto introduced the fighter as he slowly strode to his spot on the ring.

"Your death won't be wasted, Gama. I will destroy him," Toya whispered as his eyes turned icy. I shivered slightly. I then noticed that I was slightly lightheaded and felt my arm sear in pain for a moment. I hissed in pain and saw Yusuke spin on his heels to catch me before I fell to the side. I closed my eyes and coughed slightly feeling the wound on my stomach open a little more.

"Wasn't Kurama's herbs supposed to stop the bleeding?" Yusuke said as he tried to put me against the wall again. Pain overwhelmed me and I think I might've fallen unconscious. I wasn't sure because everything was completely blurry around me, but I finally came all the way to with a strange feeling hitting my body. I opened my eyes and sensed Hiei's Jagan prying into my energy once again. A little more power flowed through me and I managed to return my breathing back to normal.

"_Yet again. Thanks Hiei," _I said blinking away the unconscious wave that hit me.

"_It turns out that there was still one seal that didn't fully unlock itself. It just needed a little nudge,"_ Hiei said nonchalantly.

"_Heh…I guess…I do have…a lot to learn,"_ I muttered for a moment trying to get my head back in order. Yusuke gave my shoulders a little shake and I opened my eyes to stare at him for a moment. I smiled and said, "I'm alright. Just a little breakdown."

"Yeah well make sure you don't have too many more of those. We already got one guy down. We don't need another one," Yusuke said looking over at Kuwabara who was still completely out of it on the ground. I glanced over at him for a moment before smiling slightly.

He was completely covered in wounds. At that moment, he was the very definition of a bloody mess. His skin was slightly paler than it should've been and if I didn't know what he was going to pull in his match against Risho, I'd have been worried. But that fool was lying there unconscious looking like he was sleeping. There was this goofy look on his face and the corner of his mouth was smiling a bit. I had to admit that he looked a little bit like a big teddy bear. Something you just wanted to hug. Go figure! I used to not be able to stand Kuwabara! I used to think he was stupid as hell and just someone I wanted to hit the mess out of, but now…I really liked him. Sure he was a bit annoying, but he was someone I had to spend time with to like.

It was like another one of my friends back home. She was loud and obnoxious. I wanted to slap her the first time we met because she would not stop yelling even though I had asked her not to and then yelled at her. Then I hung out around her a bit and found that we both had similar interests. I took it slow being her friend since I was such a bitch to her at first and we acknowledged that we misjudged each other. It wasn't until I helped her with a hard time that I really realized how much of a good person she was. I always hoped she'd forgive me for all the mean times and we'd be friends for a long time.

Kuwabara was like that. Loud and obnoxious, but definitely someone you'd have to get to know to really be friends with. You know that clichéd saying 'never judge a book by its cover?' They were both one of those instances and I'm glad I got to know both of them. They were worth a lot more than I imagined. Sometimes we all need that little surprise in our lives to really tell us something about ourselves that we didn't know before.

"Don't worry, Yusuke. I wouldn't count him down and out for too long. Kuwabara's someone I really look up to for his determination," I said smiling.

"More like being a flat out stubborn jackass," Yusuke muttered as we both turned to see Toya finishing his whole explanation of the Shinobi coming out of hiding to spread around the world. Talk about a long winded speech. Hehe. I was slightly happy that I missed that speech because it was boring to me. As Hiei and Genkai said, it was just one big Shinobi revolt.

"Enough. We waste time…time Gama gave his life to grant me," Toya said as he began powering up his ice.

"BEGIN!" Koto shouted as the crowd went into another uproar. They really loved this kind of thing.

"You're smart, Kurama…and demonstrably fatal to anyone who gets careless. I won't make the mistake of presuming you're entirely helpless…so I'll adopt the sniper approach," Toya said calling some strange balls of ice energy to his hands. He brought it up to his face and blew the attack right at Kurama. The fox demon tried to evade the first round, but was hit by the attack so badly that I flinched. Toya continued his sniper like assault and Kurama pulled some very agile and swift moves to dodge. The one I took most notice of was when he jumped to a handstand to avoid the attacks and I'm sure I turned green-eyed with envy. Although I wasn't envious long because Kurama was slammed with another attack that made me flinch even more. Damn, Toya was pounding the living mess out of poor Kurama!

Kurama went to run from the attack again and was struck with a sudden thought. He began smearing his own blood against Gama's saying, "Wait…this ink is Gama's blood, so…"

"Heh. Washing blood with blood…very good…" Toya looked at Kurama with a satisfied look and the "chains" on Kurama's limbs acted up. Kurama knew he was stuck and Toya quickly made good on his chance to create another attack, "…but useless. Gama has that angle covered. You remember what he said, don't you? I still have five minutes left!! As long as his aura lingers…you can't emit any aura yourself!!"

Kurama was hit with another volley of attacks and I smelled his blood drift through the air around us. I took a minute to think about it and realized that it smelled way different from Yusuke's and the other guys. It was…sweeter. More flowery if I had to describe it a certain way. I couldn't say that surprised me really, but it was pretty interesting that the way a person's scent even affected the scent of the blood.

Kurama slowly pushed himself up from the ground and I instantly saw the plan forming in his mind. It was surprising that whenever Kurama began to think of a plan, you could see it in his eyes, but at the same time you had no idea what he was thinking. I suppose that that's what made Kurama such a frightening opponent in my eyes. Toya even was impressed with Kurama's actions and said, "You are formidable. You've avoided every mortal blow I've tried to inflict. And you're considering attack options this very moment."

"Tell me one more thing. What do you plan to do here?" Kurama asked as his hand began to make its way to an open wound on his arm. I saw the seed in his hand and I felt anxiety flicker in my chest.

"_I know you know what you're doing, but you better be careful! One wrong move and you'll regret it more than anything," _I hissed at him pushing the herbs into my wound as I felt it begin to open again. I took a breath and continued, _"Don't you dare make me tell your mother what happened. Don't you dare."_

"_Hm. Very well,"_ Kurama said in absolute monotone. I didn't doubt his ability with his plants, but there was always that chance that something could go wrong. I just didn't want to watch it if it did.

Toya noticed the movement and realized that he was in danger of getting stuck between a rock and a hard place. He summoned the ice sword around his hand and lunged forward to finish Kurama off. Koto leaned forward in anticipation and said, "Toya's summoned a sword of ice! Is he going for the ultimate stroke?"

"This is it! Without your aura, you have no way to parry my sword!! Now suffer!!" Toya shouted leaping up and hovering just over him for another moment. Before anything else could be done, plants shot out of Kurama's bloody arms and one caught the sword while the other one stabbed Toya through the gut. Silence fell around the entire arena and we watched as the fighters stared one another down. Toya coughed slightly and whispered, "Plants…from your wounds!! You put the Deadly Vetch in them?!"

"Yes, where my aura flows freely. You made that option available to me," Kurama said with a straight face. Toya hit the ground and we could all see there was no way he was getting back up to fight.

"You're…too much…" Toya muttered as he accepted his defeat at someone who was just a little bit better in a fight than him. Koto quickly counted Toya out of the fight and I quickly tried to see if Kurama was ok.

"_Kurama! Kurama, are you alright?!"_ I said worriedly at him. I knew that he was supposed to be alright after Yusuke beat the crap out of the guy who was going to use him as a punching bag, but Kurama looked really bad. His skin was pale and he looked like he was barely breathing on his own. I was worried that something had gone wrong when it shouldn't have and it was because I screwed the storyline up.

"_It's…alright…I'll just have…to rest after…this,"_ Kurama weakly said to me but it was reassuring. I felt better and let the storyline play itself out after that.

"You win…now end me…" Toya gasped at Kurama's feet.

"No," was the dull answer. Toya looked up at him in complete surprise and Kurama weakly looked down at him seriously saying, "After light, what will you seek? I'd like to know. Anyway, it's obvious…I'm in worse shape…than you…"

Kurama's eyes then closed and his arms swung to his side as he fell unconscious. Yusuke nearly freaked and shouted loudly, "KURAMA!!"

The crowd went into an uproar about how Kurama was finally "dead" and I barely bit my tongue to keep from yelling profanity at all of them. Yusuke was soon reassured that his friend was alright and only resting, but I knew what was coming next. I could already sense the anger rising in my fingertips and small little snaps of electricity broke around me. No one seemed to notice my anger and I barely suppressed the anger was hitting the little energy I had left.

"This is where everything begins to go to hell for a bit," I hissed to myself in annoyance. I glared at the Shadow Channelers and thought about what was about to happen to poor Kurama now.

--

_**ME:**_** Well, there's that chapter for you people! I hope you like it and I'll be hoping to update soon. Next chapter would bring Jin into the picture.**

_**Hiei:**_** So in other words Yukina will be appearing soon.**

_**ME:**_** Yes, Hiei, she will and you still owe me Sherbet.**

_**Hiei:**_** (runs)**

_**ME:**_** Well, I hope you liked this chapter people and I will hopefully be updating soon. Now excuse me while I go chase down the thief! (gives chase) Review!**


	16. He Can Fly!

_**ME:**_** (yawn) Alright people! I'm back and I'm here to give you what you all have been looking forward to. JIN'S ENTRANCE (hears applause). Figures. Lol. Oh and one quick thing. I LOVE that reader traffic thing. I love to see all the different countries on it. Makes me so happy. It's cool!**

_**Hiei:**_** Funny how he seems to have gotten the largest reaction from the readers in the reviews.**

_**ME:**_** I know what ya mean. SO I decided to give you the day off from your muse duties and give them to a guest muse.**

_**Jin:**_** (floating above us) Dat's pretty darn nice of ya. Lookit my ears! (Messes with them) They've really perked up! This is gonna be fun!**

_**Hiei:**_** (Sweatdrop) Something tells me this should be interesting.**

_**ME:**_** Doesn't he say that when he first goes against Yusuke? (goes back to manga for reference.)**

_**Jin:**_** Aye I do! An' this is gonna be one heckuva a fight ya know. An' I'm lovin' the attention from my fans! (makes gestures for more applause which obediently come.)**

_**ME and Hiei:**_** (Watches him slightly annoyed) What a ham.**

_**Jin:**_** So how 'bout we be gettin' to the fight now? The readers are gonna have a blast.**

_**ME:**_** Don't you dare do what I think you're going to do!**

_**Hiei:**_** He's going to do it. (digs his sword in the ground and prepares for one hell of a wind and I'm freaking out in chibi form behind him.)**

_**ME:**_** I don't own Yu-Yu Hakusho!! Chapter start! (Tries to grab something, but Jin shoots into the air with a lot of wind and gets blown about five states away.)**

**--**

_**Chapter 16: He Can Fly**_

The crowd went into an uproar about how Kurama was finally "dead" and I barely bit my tongue to keep from yelling profanity at all of them. Yusuke was soon reassured that his friend was alright and only resting, but I knew what was coming next. I could already sense the anger rising in my fingertips and small little snaps of electricity broke around me. No one seemed to notice my anger and I barely suppressed the anger was hitting the little energy I had left.

"This is where everything begins to go to hell for a bit," I hissed to myself in annoyance. I glared at the Shadow Channelers and thought about what was about to happen to poor Kurama now.

"Kurama's still breathing!" Yusuke couldn't help but call in happiness.

The demons in the crowd went berserk and Koto was quick to say, "But he's otherwise completely out of it! He's one tough cookie!"

Nah, ya think?? He stood there and took on two of those demons and put them out of commission before he followed! He better be one tough cookie you annoying little fox! I twitched in annoyance and couldn't wait to freak her out in the fights to come when I had the chance.

"That's it!! Kurama's done! I'm comin' in!" Yusuke shouted at her desperate to get his friend out of harm's way. I shifted on the ground where I was at and bit down so hard on my lip that it began to bleed. I wished that he could step in for Kurama, but there was no way this cheating excuse for a tournament would let him.

It was then that Baku stepped up behind Koto and said calmly, "Whoa…you stay put." Yusuke glared daggers at the scarred fighter and he merely returned the look with a cool smirk as if they were nothing. His eyes suddenly dilated as he continued, "This one's still standing and in bounds, so he fights me!"

"Fight you?! He can't even see you!" Yusuke shouted in answer and I glared at the guy along with him.

"You baka! You so weak that you have to go fighting people who are unconscious and unable to fight back? Coward!" I roared in anger as I felt some lightning spark by my hand. I almost froze in surprise, but managed to keep my outer appearance looking enraged. The inside however was staring at my hand in surprise as I realized that I still had a bit more power left in me. It must've just come to the surface because my anger irritated it. I smirked inwardly and prepared myself to use it just incase this particular fight may have changed because of my presence.

At this time, Koto was standing in the middle of the ring not knowing exactly what to say. She took a breath and then announced, "I…I call for a handoff!"

"WHAT? Sez you!"

"No handoff!"

"NO HANDOFF! KURAMA DIES!"

A chant of "no handoff" went through the crowd and I almost had to cover my ears. The audience was dead set against the very thought and I already knew what the ruling was going to be. If Hiei wasn't behind that cursed barrier the witch Luka had him behind, there might've been a chance that it would've went in our favor. After all, who were these cowards to go against something like the power Hiei could call up at a whim?

"We have a ruling from the tournament HQ!!" the speaker crackled over the roar of the audience to effectively silence them. They waited on the edge of their seats and I bit down harder on my lip to keep from letting out a stream of curses that threatened to get me into more trouble than I was in. I sucked in a tight breath as the voice continued in a casual tone, "There will be NO handoff! Repeat-No handoff!"

"Grr!" Yusuke growled in anger as I glance over to see Hiei trying to make his way out from behind the shield. Luka told him to not even think about it and he merely glared back at her.

"_Calm down you guys!" _I said telepathically to them. _"It's going to end out alright. I promise."_

Hiei looked at me for a minute and then nodded while Yusuke got silent. Yusuke was still angry with what was happening, but at least managed to keep his anger to dirty looks and small twitching of the hands. The voice on the speaker took a breath and called out, "Match number three-Kurama vs. Bakuken!! Begin!"

"Hear that?" Baku asked Koto as he picked her up from behind and tossed her out of the ring saying, "You've been overruled."

Baku advanced on Kurama as the ground rose in a chant of various ways to kill Kurama and I felt my fingers twitching in anger. The fighter gave our favorite plant user a demonic smirk and proceeded to pound the living daylights out of him with his huge fists. Blood splattered across the ground and I flinched every time those meaty hands slammed against Kurama's defenseless being. It was like watching a person kick a small animal that hadn't done anything. Fury was pounding through my blood and I wanted more than anything to see Yusuke teach him a lesson now. He continued beating Kurama bloodier than he was before and commented, "Heh heh. Makes a good punching bag."

Baku finally gave another punch to Kurama that knocked his unconscious form to the ground. Kurama rolled for a second and came to a rest on his side. Baku merely began to laugh and advance as Koto's head popped over the edge of the ring. She saw what happened and put the microphone up to her mouth to say, "Kurama is down! Kurama is done! I'm starting the count!!"

"I'd hold off on that ref. Your call's a mite premature," Baku said as she was counting and grabbed Kurama by the collar of his shirt. Baku smiled over at Yusuke and me cockily and continued, "See? He's right back up again. Can't keep this boy down…heh. I just love a scrappy opponent!"

Baku drew his arm back to land a final attack that looked as if it would be powerful enough to snap Kurama's neck or fracture his skull should he be caught off guard. Since I knew Kurama wasn't gifted with a thick head like Kuwabara, Yusuke, or me, I slammed my palms onto the ground next to me and sent my power coursing through the ground into the floor of the ring. Yusuke straightened as well and focused his Reigun right on Baku's heart. The bastard was going down one way or another according to Yusuke and me.

"Stop it, Bakuken!" Risho called out at him and Baku froze.

At first he was stunned about what his partner had shouted, but quickly recovered and turned angry. He glared his comrade down and said, "Risho! I was about to-"

"Take a Reigun Bolt and get your nervous shut down by a heck of a shock, you idiot. Look behind you," Risho responded coldly as Baku froze. He slowly drew back from punching Kurama and glanced back at Yusuke and me. The light was shining brightly at Yusuke's fingertip and I was shooting the lightning around the edge of the ring. I already knew he was going to put Kurama down, but I wasn't able to calm myself down. Kurama was a friend and if this freak laid one more hand on him I was going to teach him a valuable lesson in lightning connecting with the body. Risho knew what was going to happen as well and continued, "They will kill you. At this point they don't care about the rules, which you are willfully flouting anyway. And he specifically cares less about what the audience will think. The girl on the other hand feels that should you injure her friend one more time she will send all the lightning she can control coursing through your body."

Baku's eyes narrowed on both of us and he snarled angrily at us. He gave a small glare at his comrade and growled, "You, Toya, Gama, and Jin are soooo civilized. You don't see that winning means utterly demolishing your opponent! But I would like a real fight!! Come on up, you!"

Baku merely threw Kurama off the side of the ring and Yusuke managed to catch him perfectly without allowing any more damage to be caused. Meanwhile Baku and I caught each other's eyes and had a battle of the glares. He laughed and I hissed, "Shut your mouth, you ugly punk. I can't get up there and put you in your place, but even if I could I'd still make Yusuke do it. He's going to show you exactly how screwed you really are. There's a reason why your nickname is so close to baka!"

Baku shrugged off my threat and Yusuke leaned Kurama on the wall just to my left. I looked over his wounds for a moment and then looked at my own wounded stomach. In the long run, I think I had made it out a hell of a lot better. The wound on my stomach hadn't closed yet, but at least I didn't have the Deadly Vetch in my system. I looked over at Hiei and saw him smirking after telling Luka that it was a close one for her side. Then he glanced over at me and said, _"Who was telling who to stay calm?"_

"_So I can't practice what I preach. Sue me," _I said closing my eyes and leaning back against the wall. I recalled the lightning that I had surging around his feet and opened my eyes to see Yusuke already placed himself in the ring and glared down Baku. Koto pulled herself to stand on the ring and called out, "Urameshi vs. Bakuken! Begin!"

Bakuken began sweating profusely as he "powered up" and I wrinkled my nose in complete disgust. It smelled like a bunch of sweaty guys from the gym who had no concept of what deodorant was. It was sickening and I gagged quietly under my breath. I glanced over at Kurama's unconscious form and saw his own nose twitch enough to make me laugh out loud. Even unconscious he had the sense of smell of a fox! Poor guy was probably getting stunk out with no way to freely get away!

Koto was astounded by the black cloud that hung over the ring and called out, "Bakuken has created a covering fog from his sweat! Phew! Urameshi won't be able to get a bead on him!!"

"I'm glad Yusuke isn't affected by smell. Otherwise he might keel over dead now," I hissed causing Koto to lose her professional manner and giggle at the comment. She soon recovered and stared intently at the thick fog. I closed my eyes and listened to Bakuken's fist connecting with Yusuke's face. I heard him skidding back a little, but I could tell by the sound of Yusuke's breathing that he wasn't even fazed by the attack.

Baku began chuckling to himself over the first hit and said, "Heh heh, no clue, eh? You're just another punching bag, buddy."

He of course was counting his chickens before they hatched and Yusuke found the fact entertaining. He began laughing and everyone was surprised that Yusuke was taking it so lightly. Baku was completely confused and waited for Yusuke to look up and say, "Now I know you didn't kill Kurama! Not with these wussy punches!" Baku began getting enraged at the things Yusuke was saying and the Underworld detective only kept the insults coming by saying, "And you're a piker compared to Jin, ain'tcha! His wind could blow this stinky fog away in an instant! Take away your one trick, and you lose every advantage!"

"Shut yer mouth! You talk mighty big for someone who can only pass wind! I'll crush your puny skull!" Bakuken roared in an absolute rage. I laughed as I sensed Yusuke play his trap card. He shot his spirit gun into the ground and sent the fog flying away as he ran behind the giant fighter. Bakuken was perplexed by what just happened and said, "That Blast blew away my fog!! Where'd he go?!"

"Here's a prediction," Yusuke said behind the fighter as he was rolling his shoulder to prepare for the pounding he was about to do to the guy. He ran at Baku's side with his arm ready to slam into him and said, "I'll wrap this up in a two-page spread!"

I nearly caused the wound on my stomach to bleed profusely with the laughter that hit my throat. He wasn't exactly wrong about that in the manga and I finally had to stop laughing because the wound was bleeding badly again. I coughed in pain and almost closed my eyes if I hadn't caught sight of some movement from the corner of my eyes. I turned my head to look and saw Kurama's eyes opening and looking at me with a smirk as he said quietly, "A little hard to rest and regain my strength when there's a person beside me giggling like a little schoolgirl."

"Bite me," I said in a playful tone and smiled. "Good to see you're ok."

"Ok only. The Deadly Vetch wishes to see otherwise however," Kurama answered shaking his head slightly.

"Well, how about we watch Yusuke school the dick who was using you as a punching bag," I suggested as we both turned to see Yusuke breaking the guy's ribs and seeing him stumble back in pain with his head bent down.

"Heh, better cook up some fog, pal," Yusuke said as he advanced on his enemy.

"Hold on!! You busted my ribs! I can't fight with busted ribs!" Baku said shaking his hand at Yusuke.

"Really? You're still standing, ain'tcha? Your idea of an able fighter!! And it sounds good to me!!" Yusuke roared as he beat the living hell out of Baku and sent in crashing into the wall right beside Jin who was on the ground. Ruble rained on him and the Irish fighter looked at Yusuke with anticipation. You could see that he wanted to fight Yusuke now more than anything. Even his long, twitching ears showed it. Yusuke waited for the full ten count and then quickly made his way to make sure Kurama was ok. He saw he was conscious and said, "Kurama."

"I'd…hoped to beat three of them myself…" Kurama replied sighing slightly at the way things played out. I couldn't blame him for feeling like that, but I was just happy that he was alright.

"You okay, though?" Yusuke asked honestly not giving a damn about the way the fights ended.

"As far as the beatings, yeah. My Deadly Vetch is the real problem. I…heh…must reap what I've sown," Kurama said with a smile that he showed to both of us. I shook my head and laughed as Yusuke perked up as well.

"Then you take it easy. I'll deal with these last two," Yusuke said giving us both thumbs up. Kurama's face went serious and he looked at the last two fighters for a minute to access the situation.

"All right, but be careful. The first three were varying in quality, but the last two are top level," Kurama warned his teammate who also looked over at the two left.

"Doesn't change the fact that I aim to win!!" Yusuke said seriously as he jumped back into the ring, but offered a quick glance over at Hiei was on the mend. I smirked at the fact that I could sense Hiei's power rising and the Jagan-eye suppressing my power yet again. I sighed and pushed my hand against my stomach to stop the bleeding.

"It hasn't closed yet?" Kurama asked looking at me for a moment and I saw Hiei's eyes glance over as well. No doubt Kurama either alerted him or he had been listening in due to the rise in power. He didn't seem to like the fact that it was still open and bleeding, but anything besides that was hidden to me.

"No…that bastard treated those claws. It'll heal tonight when we're back at the rooms and I can relax," I muttered glancing over at Kuwabara from the corner of my eyes to see him move slightly. I knew he was coming back to fight soon and it made me feel better to actually see him move to show that he was really ok. I took a breath and continued, "I'm pretty sure though that I'm the one who got off pretty easy here."

Before anyone else could react the crowd almost went into a riot and I looked to see Jin had walked on the ring. They were screaming for him to kill Yusuke and get rid of him. Jin looked calmly back at the audience and said, "Aw, pip down, ya dorks." Then he turned to Yusuke with a smile and pointed at his ears saying, "Hey, hey. Lookit my ears. They've really perked up! The do that when I get excited! An' they haven't been this perky in ages!" Then the Irish fighter shot forward really close to Yusuke and leaned in to whisper, "By the way. That was cool what you did to Baku. He really was a big dumb jerk. Served him right."

Yusuke's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets and looked over his red-haired foe. He just couldn't make heads or tails of this guy and he didn't look as though he thought it would come to him in time, "Geez…you're a strange guy, even for a demon. I was all hepped up and angry, ready to take it out on my next opponent, but now…"

"I'm a new foe and it's a new match. Going in mad just takes the fun out of it. And that's no way to live-or die!" Jin replied smiling as he conjured one hell of a wind to come up around of all of us. My short hair whipped around my face a little and I stared at Jin in amazement.

"That…is freaking cool," I said causing Kurama to chuckle slightly, Genkai to sigh in exasperation, and Hiei to stare at me like I was a complete idiot. I sweatdropped and muttered, "Sorry…went into teenage mode there."

"You're not the only one," Kurama said pointing as Yusuke looked over his new opponent. He slowly began to smile and said, "Hmm…maybe…It's time I did have some fun. Okay Jin, we'll see who's best!! Ready when you are!!"

"Ha!" I said punching the air in triumph and smiling. I wasn't alone!

Koto raised her hand at the two contestants and announced, "Begin!"

Yusuke bolted forward so fast the Koto was sent backwards slightly stunned about his speed. He brought his arm back as he got closer to Jin and threw it forward when he was sure he could land the hit. Jin had another plan in mind however and shot into the air like a bullet from a gun. I whistled as he rose higher and Koto called out, "Wow! Jin just shot into the air! And he's staying there!"

"This has got to be one of my favorite opponents out of the whole thing. Rinku and Chu make very strong seconds though," I smiled watching him as he took in the air.

It wasn't long before he shot down at Yusuke once again and turned at the last possible second to keep from hitting him. The maneuver was amazing to watch and the way Jin cut through the wind was like nothing I had seen before. His movements were graceful and so natural it was like he was part of the wind instead of a demon that had control over it. My jaw dropped as Jin spun around and slammed Yusuke right in the side of the face with his punch. I flinched as Yusuke went skidding across the ground and Jin was enjoying the fight with Yusuke and vice versa.

"Ow…now that's a punch! This is gonna be great!" Yusuke smiled rubbing the side of his face and getting to his feet. I shook my head as he licked the blood from the side of his mouth and looked at Jin having an absolute ball.

"Jin the wind specialist employed his powers of flight for a grand opening move!! But even put off balance, Urameshi looks ready, willing, and able to strike back!!" Koto commented at the audience went into an uproar at the match before us.

"Alright Yusuke!" I called smiling at both of them, "Why don't you and Jin give a fight that's worth watching? Ok?!"

"You can betcha that's what we'll be givin' 'em," Jin smirked over at me with a thumbs up. Yusuke smiled as well and gave me the same thing.

"Yeah what he said!" Yusuke said before turning back to Jin as he began to comment on what he thought about Yusuke.

"Gutsy, trying to take me from there. Gotta watch it around you!" Jin began playing with one of his ears for a moment as one of his sharp teeth showed from the corner of his mouth. Jin was in a list of top five characters for me and seeing him in person made me all smiles. Plus, he was just one heck of an awesome guy! He was so good natured and laid back that if I hadn't seen him fight I'd be surprised he was in the Dark Tournament. He didn't automatically seem the type.

"That was a pretty solid punch, man. Nicely delivered, too," Yusuke answered with a smile of his own.

"_Do you know the outcome of this match too?"_ Hiei asked calmly as Jin and Yusuke moved to be ready for more fighting.

"_I'm pretty sure I do. Doesn't seem too much has changed in this one, but I could be wrong so I'm not gonna tell ya ok?"_ I said trying to sound a little more lighthearted than I had before.

"_Hn,"_ Hiei answered just dropping the connection in annoyance. I smiled and knew he'd get over it pretty quick.

"Don't award me any high marks yet," Jin said spinning his arm around in a circle. His movements steadily got faster and faster and before I knew what had happened it turned into a mini whirlwind. I whistled at it impressed and felt the wind blowing around us like a light breeze. I was pretty sure it was stronger to Yusuke though.

"Jin's whipping up a miniature cyclone!" Koto shouted stunned at it all.

"Terror Tornado!" Jin called. The wind swirled faster around Jin's wrist and the demon ran forward saying, "And off we go!!"

Yusuke could easily see the power behind the attack and tried to jump back away from the wind. Jin just managed to tear the neckline of his shirt as he threw the punch and Yusuke was airlifted up and sent spinning out of the ring toward the wall. It was clear that he was insanely surprised about what just happened, but managed to turn in the middle of the air and catch himself on the side. Everyone was amazed at what happened and Koto called out, "Nice acrobatic turn by Urameshi!! He's back on his feet!! However Jin's right on him!"

Jin was soaring straight toward Yusuke yet again and he barely managed to dodge out of the way as Jin demolished the wall while taking out a few spectators in the process. I wrinkled my nose at their protests and said, "Oh can it! That's the price you pay for watching this!"

"Whoo…wotta blast! You're doing very well!" Jin complimented Yusuke as they both returned to their spots on the arena floor and began calling energy to make another attack. Jin was beginning to call another wind attack forward and Yusuke wasn't having any part of that. He lunged forward and began punching Jin with everything he had. Of course Jin saw what was happening and went to match his blows with such speed that I barely could see what was happening. I had to rely on my ears instead of my eyes because for every punch that I actually saw I could hear three more with it. I shook my head and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"_Having some sight issues over there?"_ Hiei smirked at me from where he was standing with his arms crossed.

"_You're mean,"_ I sighed looking over at him shaking my head. I put on puppy eyes and said,_ "Be nice. Please??"_

"_Hn,"_ Hiei said looking back at the fight as Yusuke picked up the pace to cause Jin to sweat a little bit. Personally I was impressed because by that point I'd be a bloody pulp if Yusuke was still angry with me like before. Yusuke kicked it up even more and finally landed a solid punch directly in the middle of Jin's gut. The wind was knocked clean out of him and he wasn't able to move. The underworld decided to take another shot at knocking him down and Jin had to fly into the air for safety.

"Rats! Another airlift!" Yusuke growled gritting his teeth and looking like a very upset little kid.

"Jin's out of reach once again!!" Koto announced at the crowd went wild.

"Koff! Koff! Whew! Dat hurt! No wonder he took out Bakuken so quickly!" I heard Jin gasp in the air above us. I looked up to see him sticking out his tongue in the air and glanced down at me to see me looking. He smirked slightly and asked telepathically, _"So how's the show?"_

"_Worth watching,"_ I answered calmly causing his ears to twitch and just as he was calming down.

"According to the rules, rising straight up into the air does not count as going out-of-bounds! Jin could stay up there forever and remain in contention!!" Koto shouted to all of us and I smirked to see Yusuke just about to fix that problem. He shot off the attack and Jin barely turned to see it making his way. The wind master once again amazed us by blocking the attack with wind and redirecting it away from him. Koto was astounded and shouted loudly into the microphone, "H-He diverted Urameshi's shot with a single gust of wind!! That's the most awesome display yet of his mastery of the air!"

"Its also makes good protective "armor." Your Reigun is useless against it," Jin said crossing his arms and nodding his head. He asked Yusuke if he was ready to admit defeat and the detective of course declined. Hiei and I were quickly on the same page as we thought through Yusuke's strategy. We both knew how risky it was, but I wasn't too distracted by it. After all, this entire match was dead to its manga counterpart. Nothing had changed except the dialogue and I wasn't too worried about Yusuke bouncing back faster than Jin. The wind master however was confident and flew at Yusuke with another whirlwind as he shouted, "Then yer goin' down!"

"Here we go. Time for one heck of a wind," I said pushing my back against the wall and watching Yusuke bring up his Reigun as Jin threw the punch. Kurama gave a startled sound about the choice and Hiei nodded his head in confirmation. The thickheaded moron went and pulled one heck of a dangerous move. The next thing that was see was a huge gust of wind and then flashing light. I laughed myself to tears as I watched Koto be sent soaring through the air without a clue to what was happening to her.

"_I hope you're getting your entertainment in now. The next match is going to be something new for you," _Morte's voice echoed through my mind effectively distracting me from the fight at hand. I closed my eyes and tuned the world around me out. Instantly we made a stronger connection of the minds where we actually saw each other like we were standing together. She flicked her long hair and said, _"I'm sorry about the new style. It must've broken your heart to cut it."_

"_Not really. I was trying new stuff out anyway. I mean after all I was fighting a girl who used music like a siren and a guy that had killer steal claws. I needed a new look to go with it all," _I answered staring at her with cold eyes.

"_You seem to be getting snippier each time we talk. Its irritating,"_ she hissed quietly as she was suddenly in front of me with her hands wrapping around my throat. It didn't take long for me to realize she was suffocating me with her power and it actually wasn't her hands doing the damage. So I ignored them and went to pushing her Jagan-eye back like Hiei and I had been working on. It worked and I was able to kick her back.

"_Watch how cocky you get. I'm about tired of you,"_ I growled in a voice that had confidence I didn't feel.

"_I would say the same to you. So how about we make a deal. For each win you have I swear that I won't mess with your little friends. Especially the ones who aren't as violently inclined as the four your teammates with," _Morte smirked crossing her arms.

"_Deal,"_ I said in a heartbeat. I would do anything I could to keep her from harming my comrades and if I managed to keep the whole thing down to only her and me, I'd be happy.

"_Alright then. So I guess I have to leave them alone for now because of your wins. I'll be going now, but remember. The second you lose I get to have the fun I've been bottling up since our last encounter in Ningenkai,"_ Morte smirked winking evilly at me.

A chill slipped down my spine as she disappeared and I slowly opened my eyes feeling numb like I would if I had fallen down a mountain of snow. I tightly wrapped my arms around my upper body and watched at Jin began whipping up the double whirlwinds on his hands. Yusuke shifted into his stance for the shotgun and I let out a breath that I had been holding back for a while.

"Are you alright?" Kurama asked looking at me curiously.

"I'm fine," I answered distractedly not looking him in the eyes. Instead, I looked at the match and saw Jin just getting pumped up about Yusuke's rising energy. He dove into an attack and the both became faster than I had ever seen before. Yusuke's hand shot out and caught Jin's in a second. Sweat began beading at both of their faces and Yusuke's feet skid back through the floor of the ring. Yusuke used every bit of his determination he had and threw Jin's hand aside. Then he brought back his free on and blasted Jin clear across the ring and into the stands with such force that I flinched upon hearing the wall crumble beneath the impact.

Yusuke leaned over on his knees and waited to see if Jin was going to stay down. He nearly freaked when Jin suddenly sat up with rubble all around him and blinked in surprised. Then he made the face of a kinda cute little kid as he said, "Now that was a punch. Y'almost…knocked me…"

Then Jin passed out and nearly caused me to go into a fit of giggles. I restrained myself though and listened to Koto shout, "The Count is over! Urameshi wins!!"

My eardrums nearly split upon hearing the roar of what was going on and I closed my eyes to look over at Kuwabara. He seemed to be slowly getting better and I sighed. I gave him a small thumbs up that no one saw and whispered, "Time for you to take the hero role soon buddy. You better be ready and know you've got more that just the rest of us backing you up."

--

_**ME:**_ **(comes back after walking from five states over and breathing hard) Well there's that chapter. Remind me to always have myself tied down to something when I have a guest muse that uses that much wind. That freaking hurt when I landed. And I had people staring at me when I finally came to. I bet a few readers could've seen my flying through the air over their houses if they looked. I went high and far enough. So what I miss?**

_**Hiei:**_** The entire chapter. Oh and you're guest muse is in the corner over there asleep. He went looking for you, but got bored.**

_**ME:**_** Oh how nice…I can't get mad at him though. So he's forgiven. Before I forget I've notice that this story has been getting a lot more attention than any of my others. It really bugs me and I don't want to lose readers on my other stories either. So I decided on a good solution. Between my school work I planned out a typing schedule. This'll be the plan until I either finish one or something happens to my work. Check my profile to know where I'm at if you want to! I plan on updating it regularly so you can see.**

_**YYH- Here We Go!**_

_**YYH- Misguided Blood, War of the Mazoku**_

_**Story for Friend**_

_**TOS- Vessel For Two**_

_**Xenosaga- A URTV's Equal**_

_**Story for Friend**_

_**TOS- Melting the Heart of Ice**_

_**Possible one of the others still going if I get inspiration**_

_**Story for Friend**_

_**REPEAT**_

_**Hiei:**_** Good luck with that.**

_**ME:**_** Hey, those are equal distributions between stories and I'm pretty sure that if I keep it up we'll be able to cut a story or two out soon because it's finished.**

_**Hiei:**_** I wouldn't hold my breath.**

_**Jin:**_** (snoring loudly and causing wind to blow around so much that I cling to Hiei in fear of flying again.)**

_**ME:**_** I have half a mind to let some rabid fangirls in here to get him.**

_**Hiei:**_** As long as I can watch.**

_**ME:**_** I might. Anyway, people. I hope you liked the chapter and I hope to see some reviews! I'll be updating soon hopefully!**


	17. Into the Semifinals! ALREADY?

_**ME:**_** This idea of even updating is going fairly well for me! Heehee. I'll get some creativity out and then my teachers can stop yelling at me for scribbling in the middle of their lectures. Hehe. Oh man. Chapter 17 already?! Where has the time gone?! And I'm getting closer and closer to going too fast. It will be a serious problem if I get so far that the Manga are still coming out and I don't have the volumes to update my story. Pray with me people so that doesn't happen!**

_**Hiei:**_** Something tells me you must be very trying to have in a class.**

_**ME:**_** Not really. I'm one of the smartest kids in all my classes and don't always ask a lot of questions. The only issue they have is when I start multitasking it all. I get my work done and I get A's……they just don't like me writing. Lol. Personally, if I get the work done, its right, and I remember it for tests can they care that much I write at the same time?**

_**Hiei:**_** Enough talking. The readers are going to want to read soon.**

_**ME:**_** Yes sir! I'll get to the chapter now! If you say the disclaimer of course.**

_**Hiei:**_** She only owns her character and ideas.**

_**ME:**_** Yes and just to let you know that Jin will be soon coming back as a guest muse. I was wondering if anyone would like to be part of the rabid fangirl pack that will be coming in to mug him. My friend (who's called Rose) told me that I'd better do it or else so I might as well add anyone else who wants to come be a part of it. Lol. Anyway, Chapter Start! Thank you ALL for being such fantastic readers. You make writing all the better!**

--

_**Chapter 17: Into The Semifinals…ALREADY?!**_

My eardrums nearly split upon hearing the roar of what was going on and I closed my eyes to look over at Kuwabara. He seemed to be slowly getting better and I sighed. I gave him a small thumbs up that no one saw and whispered, "Time for you to take the hero role soon buddy. You better be ready and know you've got more that just the rest of us backing you up."

"The Shadow Channelers are down to one! That's pitiful! Pathetic!" a demon roared angrily behind me and I rolled my eyes. Demons were just like little kids in my opinion. When something didn't go their way, they threw temper tantrums and acted like little brats. So, whenever we won a match they'd break into a new hissy-fit and cause me a brand new headache. Of course when it came to loud sounds it didn't take much to give me headaches even back home. I was the only one of my friends who listened to their music quietly and I always thought it was loud. I looked around and narrowed my eyes on the sponsor of the Shadow Channelers huffing down the stairs and almost falling over the edge to throw his worries of losing at Risho. I focused my demonic hearing in their direction and caught all of their conversation.

"Hey, Risho! This is getting tight! You sure you can take this guy out? I paid your team's way and bet everything you'd win," the annoying human gasped. I was really happy he'd end up dead at the end of the whole thing. It was one of the few things I'd love Toguro for. His ruthlessness towards scum like him always made me happy.

"Don't worry, Urameshi's exhausted. But if you'd like to insure the outcome…" Risho said hinting at rigging the battle. The sponsor smiled and I saw the relief wash over his face. I growled quietly at myself and looked at Kuwabara again. The lug seemed better off that a few seconds ago and I couldn't help but smile. This was going to be awesome to watch.

"Heh, heh…Yeah I like it. I'll go make the arrangements," the guy said turning on his heel and running back up the stairs.

"Stupid pigs and their money," I muttered in a dark hiss causing Kurama to look at me curiously. I caught his look and continued, "Them throwing their money around is about to become more of an annoyance that it was before…I hate these pathetic excuses for humans. They give us all a bad name and its really beginning to piss me off…I'm actually happy I'm a demon so I don't have to count myself as part of them at the moment."

"_Sounds like you're having second thoughts about what you were originally born as are you?"_ Hiei asked causing my mood to darken even more. All humans had their flaws. I knew that and I had plenty of my own. My temper was the main one and my selfishness was another, but these humans were worse than some I had ever seen. Throwing money around and betting on creatures that were putting their lives on the line. Sure they were doing it on their own volition, but the fact alone really made me angry. These humans were just like the ones back home…and it just made me wonder about what I closed my eyes to as I was growing up. Could the world really be as bad as I was making it seem now and if so why did it take me going to another world to figure stupid shit like this out?!

"Next contender, step forward!" Koto shouted into the microphone as Risho threw his cloak off. I almost laughed at the entertaining outfit he wore, but was unable to hold it in when I caught sight of his nose. It was long and the very end looked as if it had the point cut right off. The grown out bowl cut of black hair made it more entertaining and how he held himself so superiorly had me rolling. This guy thought he was all that and then some. He looked skinny enough to be snapped in half and the guy was butt ugly! He was a sad excuse for a demon on Jin and Toya's team! It was going to be fantastic to watch Kuwabara clean his clock!

Yusuke stood in his place and Risho walked to his saying, "Permit me to predict…that you will lose without touching me."

"Say what?!" Yusuke growled in annoyance. There was no way he was about to be challenged by a fool like Risho. Personally, I would've like to see Yusuke beat Risho into the ground, but since I knew exactly how Kuwabara was going to do it, I liked it twice a much. Koto initiated the battle and Yusuke sprung forward with enough anger to tear Risho's head off as he shouted, "Let's challenge that prediction!!"

"STOP THE MATCH!" the announcer called loudly over the entire stadium. Everything went absolutely silent immediately after and Yusuke toppled over head-first into the ground after trying to stop his momentum. I resisted all urges to laugh and looked at my comrades who were completely surprised. Hiei was intently watching the VIP seats and Yusuke was slowly getting to his feet in surprise.

"We have an objection from the VIP seats!" Koto announced into the microphone as if none of us had heard the announcement ourselves.

"Oh no…not this again," Yusuke muttered catching onto what was going on.

"It has been decided that when Urameshi fell out of bounds in the previous match the referee did not proceed with the count at the regulation pace. In short, she was slow!" the VIP announcer said causing Koto to shriek in her defense.

"Huh? ME?! Count too slow?!" she stuttered looking around in complete disbelief. I didn't blame her. After all, she was told by her superiors that she was to take her time for the dramatic effect of the fights. Even her employers were a bunch of backstabbers.

"After considering the matter…The committee has ruled the match between Urameshi and Jin a draw!" the announcement echoed over the entire stadium.

"Bullshit! Hey Risho! Why don't you tell your damned sponsor to throw a little bit more of his money around! Maybe he'll get your dumbass to the end without even having to face Toguro! Bastard!" I shouted drawing not only my comrade's attention, but quite a few demons around us. I really didn't care because I was venting my exasperation with the rules being made up as we went and anyone who had a problem with that wouldn't dare come near me in fear of getting their ass kicked by one of the guys. Hiei even gave me a slightly startled look and I felt a little satisfaction at showing that I wasn't a quiet little demoness.

"That was colorful," a voice came from my side as all the demons began talking about if the count was slow and if it really was, what it meant. Kurama and I both glanced over in surprise at the form sitting up beside us. I smiled and Kuwabara gave me a thumbs up as he continued, "I didn't know you were such a little fireball."

"Haha! Sure you did. I mean, after all the time I've spent with you guys it had to happen. Anyway, you know what's going on right?" I smirked feeling my heart beat excitedly. Now we were getting somewhere.

"Yeah. Those cheaters are trying to get us out of the running and I'm not letting it happen," Kuwabara said moving a bit, but stopped upon getting dizzy.

"You're not ready to be moving around so much, Kuwabara," Kurama said making the frizzy-haired fighter look at us seriously.

"I'm better off that you two. Kurama, you look like you got used as a punching bag and Rin has a hole in her stomach. Don't worry about me," Kuwabara smiled looking at us with his goofy smile. I couldn't help but return it and I gave him a nod.

"Just make your entrance big and dramatic," I said giving him a thumbs up.

"You bet," he answered as we all turned our attention back to the ring to see what was going on. Risho was standing smugly in the middle of the ring with his arms crossed while he gave Yusuke a content smile.

"Heh…exactly. Go ahead and announce their defeat," Risho said looking at Koto expectantly. The poor female didn't know what to say and though she had no attachments to our team, she had a small attachment to her beloved rulebook. She knew this wasn't fair and wanted to see a much better fight than she was being currently given.

"I-I challenge the claim! Please reconsider your ruling!!" Koto roared into her microphone indignantly.

"No appeals! The ruling stands!" was the blunt shot at Koto causing her to get annoyed. She pouted slightly and I turned my attention to Toya who was standing up.

"Risho! What kind of victory is this? Gama died fighting, while you-" Toya began to ask his comrade who was just showing his true colors. The poor ice fighter couldn't understand what was going through his comrade's head.

"This doesn't suit you? What a shame. We're here to win, period. And the best way to win is with the least amount of effort and bloodshed," Risho answered bluntly causing Toya to stare at him in amazement. I felt a little bad for him because everything he believed in was just shot aside by his own teammate. Toya wasn't a bad guy and I was happy he'd become friends with the rest of the group. His teammate was just an ass. Risho turned his attention to Koto and pointed at her saying in a commanding voice, "You heard the decision! Announce it! Or shall we eject you and get a new referee?"

Koto couldn't lose her job and she raise her microphone to close the dirty deed. Yusuke stopped her though by sliding in front of her to stare down Risho. His eyes were intense and his voice was deadly as he growled, "So you'd rather have things handed to you than earn 'em, huh? What a wimp!"

"Let it go, Yusuke. As you see this tournament's a sorry joke. They clearly don't respect the rules…" Hiei said causing all of us to pay absolute attention to him. I smiled at the smirk creeping across at his face. He suddenly powered up and even I was blown back against the wall at the jolt his power gave me. Although, I felt my own power feel rejuvenated after seeing the two of them go at it and I wanted to be right there with them even though I knew I couldn't. So, instead I watched Hiei almost crack open Luka's force field as he continued, "So we'll make them respect US! Let the strong survive, no holds barred!"

"He's not kidding! And he's got the power to back it up! I can't hold him!" Luka shouted angrily to her superior that gave her the orders to hold Genkai and Hiei there.

"Alright! It's time to show these guys what Team Urameshi is really made of!" I called out to Yusuke and Hiei with a supportive smile.

"You're right Hiei…I'm fed up with this crap too! These guys what mayhem?! We'll give 'em mayhem!!" Yusuke growled balling his fists and glaring at the rest of the demons around us. A few seemed worried about any of us turning on them, but a majority of the demons wanted us to fight them and get our asses kicked. I doubt that would happen in any way and wanted to heal the wound in my stomach more than anything else. It wasn't going to happen though so instead I turned to the teammate that was just about to make one hell of a comeback.

"You're entrance should be coming up in a few seconds, Kuwabara," I whispered to him smiling supportively and patting him on the shoulder lightly.

"Much as I hate to say this…Team Urameshi is out of contention! The Shadow Channelers are…" Koto began to announce and took a dramatic pause for the big revealing. Kuwabara took his chance and was on his feet in an instant.

"A BUNCHA LILY-LIVERED BUMS!!" Kuwabara roared causing Koto, Hiei, Yusuke, Risho, and almost everyone else to look in surprise at everyone's favorite loveable lug that was barely standing on his own two feet. He glared Risho down seriously and continued, "That's what I say anyway! Y'all forget about li'l ol' me?"

"Woo! Kick some ass, Kuwabara!" I cheered him on as he made his way to the ring. Yusuke ran out to meet him and Hiei crossed his arms to stare in slight amazement.

"You're still around, huh?" Hiei said stirring up even more trouble with Kuwabara like usual.

"You bet yer-" Kuwabara began to shout until pain shot through his side and he doubled over almost face first.

"You're in no shape for this, ya moron! You're a mass of hurt from that poundin' ya got!" Yusuke said in concern for his friends as he landed right in front of him.

"Tell me somethin' I don't know…and tell me you really wanna sink t' their level at this point. Not that I blame you…I'd love to bust this place open myself! But can't we show these cheatin' scum that, even at our worse, we're better?" Kuwabara said smiling a smile that made me feel happy that I was his friend. Kuwabara struck me as an idiot the first time we met, but I love him like a brother now. He was really mature and sensitive when he wanted to be. It was something most guys his age didn't get for a long time. Though, Hiei couldn't leave the fuzzy moment alone and made me sweatdrop. I didn't realize how much enjoyment he got out of patronizing Kuwabara.

"IF you win," he stated in such a doubtful voice I slapped my forehead.

"You just watch, shorty!" Kuwabara shouted in anger.

"_Damn Hiei. You just can't let a nice moment go by can you? Both of you patronizing each other really is a two way street!"_ I said looking at him with a smile. I grinned even wider and said, _"Maybe it's a way you two show that you're teammates!"_

I received the same monosyllable as I usually did and we all turned our attention back to Kuwabara who slowly made his way to the ring and wobbled over to Risho. Yusuke made his way over to us and I slowly pushed myself up to my feet. I was as shaky on my feet as Kuwabara was and Yusuke quickly grabbed me before I fell. I dropped the healing herb Kurama gave me and focused on standing up straight. It took a lot of effort, but I finally was able to push Yusuke away and stand to see Kuwabara and Risho staring one another down. I crossed my arms over the wound and stood contently to watch what was happening next. Risho looked at Kuwabara in contempt and said, "Is this a death wish or pure stupidity?"

"What difference does it make? Let's do it!!" Kuwabara said sliding into a fighting stance.

"Begin!" Koto shouted as she took a step back from the contenders. She looked between them and continued, "Whoever wins, his team moves on to the semifinals!!"

"Any bets on how quick the human dies?" a demon called from the left side of the stadium. I glanced over and saw the demon looking around expectantly at the demons around him.

With all the reversals we've seen? Fat chance!" the demon sitting beside him growled. I laughed and shook my head.

"It seems they learn after all," I smirked and looked back at the ring.

"Mash 'im up, Kuwabara!! Bust his smirkin', cheatin' butt!!" Yusuke shouted as an anime vein came to his forehead.

"We're behind you all the way, Kuwabara!!" I shouted supportively and punched my fist into the air.

"Heh…Take your shot," Risho said motioning for Kuwabara to come at him.

"Thanks! I'd be delighted!!" Kuwabara called running toward Risho. Kuwabara tried to call his Aura Sword and it failed in his hand. The shock that came over his face was clear that he hadn't seen it coming and the swift kick to the face sent him reeling away from Risho. His head smacked into the ground and I flinched back after hearing the thud. I don't care how hard his head was. That had to hurt. He slowly pushed himself up and looked at his hand gasping, "Unh…Shee…I…can't make…my Aura Sword!!"

"What?!" Yusuke called as the color drained from his face.

"Its not that surprising, Yusuke. Kuwabara took one heck of a beating. His energy went into self preservation mode. So, instead of automatically being ready at his beck and call, they're working on healing his wounds. The energy he would be able to call on is working on something more important. We can only hope that Kuwabara finds a way to finish this without having to use his energy," I said smirking slightly. Kuwabara would find a way to do this without touching his Reiki anyway. I knew that much. It was just a matter of waiting for the right person to give him a reason to fight. She would soon be coming his way in a matter of minutes.

Risho wasn't about to take it easy on him though. He soccer kicked him across the ring and Kuwabara skid on his already wounded back a decent ways away. Of course he didn't stay down for long and the second Kuwabara was on his feet Risho began pounding the living hell out of him. Risho laughed maniacally and called out, "Left! Right! It's no mystery why you can't summon you sword! You body's already taken a huge amount of punishment so your aura is totally absorbed in healing!"

"Didn't I just say that?" I said smiling a bit. I knew Risho was going to say that and felt some strange urge to say it before him. Kurama shook his head at me and Hiei gave me a look that told me he was annoyed.

"_Saying things you know are coming will lead to more unwanted questions. You're leading to your own undoing of this group," _Hiei said causing me to freeze. He was right…What would happen to me if Yusuke found out I knew what was going to happen before Genkai…I didn't want to think about it. Dead wouldn't even be an accurate word to describe what would happen to me then.

Risho kicked Kuwabara back yet again and the loveable lug pushed himself right back up. Risho clearly wasn't happy at Kuwabara's stubbornness and was beginning to get testy. Risho jumped back and said, "You're tough, human, but I tire of this! Time you saw what it means to be the Earth Master!!"

"Risho's delaying his attack! What's he up to?!" Koto commented as she ran toward a side for a better view. Risho stomped his foot down and the dirt all around the ring began slowly climbing up his legs. I watched carefully as the dirt made its way up his entire body and began taking form around him. Koto leaned forward and called, "He's summoning the dirt…to cover his body!!"

The dirt jagged out and built a heavy armor around Risho's body. He smirked at Kuwabara and shouted, "Carnage Earth Battle Armor! Brace yourself for the…Bomber Tackle!!"

Risho charged forward and slammed right into Kuwabara's body. Blood flew everywhere and I froze upon watching Kuwabara slam into the ground on his back. I looked at Koto in surprise and he brought her hand up while calling into the microphone, "He's down! One!! Two!!"

"Well…so much for…" Risho began to laugh until her turned and saw Kuwabara slowly pushing himself up. His movements were slow and shaky, but there was stubbornness to his movements that couldn't be denied. Blood spurt out from his wounds and covered the ring floor around him and Risho's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as Kuwabara pushed himself up. He began to sweat and stuttered, "What the…Eh? What's…? YOU IDIOT! Stay down!!"

"And lose? Uh-uh! I'm stayin' in the game even if it kills me. And if it's a draw we go to overtime. Either way, Yusuke'll mop you up," Kuwabara said looking at Risho with a blunt look.

"Ulp…he means it…" Risho muttered to himself as sweat began to pour down his face. It was then that Risho really realized what Kuwabara was made of and it wasn't something he was ready to go against.

Kuwabara looked over all of us then and began sending his telepathic messages out to us. I listened to them all as he started and watched his head turn to each person as he said, _"Hiei…you're a jerk, but you've got the right stuff. Kurama…I've gotten this far thanks to you. Masked Fighter…still no idea who you are but you've got the right stuff too. Rin…you're one of the toughest girls I know. Keep kicking butt like you do. Yusuke…knead 'im good for me!!"_

"Kuwabara?!" Yusuke said freaking out.

"Maybe he should get sappy more often. It really helps him fight," I muttered crossing my arms and waiting for what was coming. Yusuke spun around on me and was ready to attack until I held my hands out to him in my defense. He stopped and I said, "Just wait…you'll see what I mean."

"Here I come!!" Kuwabara shouted running forward as fast as he possibly could.

"Don't do this!!" Yusuke shouted out to his friend as he ran.

"Zip it, Yusuke! See you in the afterlife!! If I just could have seen her…one last time…" Kuwabara said as he ran straight toward Risho.

"Kazuma!" Yukina's voice called out over all the shouts that were heard. Kuwabara instantly turned his attention to Yukina and caught sight of her in seconds.

"Hey, moron! I'm over here!" Risho shouted pouncing on Kuwabara and pulling his arm back to land a decent attack.

"GIT OUTTA MY FACE!!" Kuwabara shouted doing on swift back-knuckled punch that could've been mistaken for a heavy pimp slap. I died laughing on the spot and had to have Yusuke stable me before I fell flat on my ass from laughing so hard. Yusuke didn't exactly know what to do and every other comrade of ours just stood their in complete awe. Except for Hiei of course who was stunned to see Yukina standing there.

"_Did you know she was coming here?!"_ Hiei growled at me as I continued my laughing fit from where I was. Hiei sounded a little angry with me and it didn't take much for me process why. He didn't want his little sister around such a dangerous place like this and not only did the danger bother him, but the chance of her finding him out did too. I knew I should've gotten serious right then and there, but I couldn't stop myself from laughing entirely. Instead I just calmed down a little.

"_Yes, I did. As I said before though. I can't tell you everything that happens,"_ I answered giggling and straightened up. Yusuke however just stared at Kuwabara in complete awe and couldn't seem to say anything.

"Holy…Jeeps, Kuwabara," Yusuke muttered shaking his head.

"He's a beast for love," I laughed and even got Kurama to give me a chuckle. Yusuke was howling in laughter and Genkai just gave me a little shake of her head. We all knew I hit the nail on the head and nothing else needed to be said. Hiei wasn't exactly happy with the facts, but then again he was the overprotective brother in this scenario. It only made sense he wanted to make sure his sister didn't go with someone who wouldn't take care of her.

"Well folks, it seems today was full of absolutely gruesome surprises and I know I loved every moment of it! So now we have our winners and losers and we're even further into the bloodshed!!" Koto shouted to everyone as they went into an uproar. Kuwabara made his way down from the ring and Yusuke helped Kurama to his feet. I sensed the shield go down and glanced over to see Hiei and Genkai making there way over to us leaving Luka back-stepping in complete relief. They were soon beside us and I looked over Hiei to be sure his arm was alright. He noticed it and nudged me in the side with it to show me that he was fine. I smiled and crossed my arms to hear Koto continue her announcement, "Team Urameshi will now advance to the semifinals! Three more days and we get to see the human team fight some more!"

"Wait…did she just say three days?" I said counting on my fingers from what I remembered in the manga. I could've sworn that it was only two days they really got, but…then again there was still something I always forgot to take into account. The fact that I'm actually there instead reading it back home. That was an obvious factor in it all.

"Yeah, three days till the next fight. What about it?" Kuwabara asked looked at me curiously. I sighed and waved my hand dismissively at him.

"Nothing. Just the musings of a too wound up fighter," I smiled at him before turning mischievous. I leaned over and ever-so-gently elbowed him saying, "So you going to go get some tender love and care from Yukina now or what?"

"Uuah…s-shut up!" Kuwabara stuttered turning red and moving me away from him. I laughed and then looked ahead of me and thought about what I was going to do the extra day. Today, the girls and guys would meet up and Yusuke would get his Underworld Beast. Tomorrow, the whole group would go check out the fight from the other team and then have their small confrontation with Toguro. Not to mention that also included Genkai giving Yusuke his final test. Once I thought about it though, it made more sense to me that the extra day would be tomorrow. I stopped in the hall for a minute to look over the tournament schedule and saw that I was right. There were no fights tomorrow and Yusuke getting his Saint Beast would still happen today, but we would just have a little extra time to go see the fights. I was slightly reassured. I needed some time to think about some things.

"So let's go meet up with the girls!" Kuwabara smiled walking ahead of us to get out of the stadium. I closed my eyes for a moment and decided that I needed to go heal quickly and turned the opposite way when we got outside.

"Tell them all hi for me. I need something back at the apartments," I smiled waving my hand at them and making my way away from them. I didn't mean to come off as cold or anything, but I had been suddenly struck by a feeling I should've seen coming a while back.

While I was getting so attached to my friends, getting so into the fights, and getting into the story with everything I had, it came to my mind that I was just an intruder like Morte. I wasn't supposed to be there. I wasn't supposed to be around any of them and I sure as heck wasn't supposed to fall for Hiei! Back home I was one of those fan-girls that the characters would run from if they ever saw in real life! So, what the hell was I doing?! I couldn't fall in love with him. He ended up with Mukuro in the end of it all. I knew that much. Yet, I still couldn't help it. I felt a connection to him in the way he acted toward people and the way I wanted him to know that I could help him if he asked for it. It was childish because I knew that I couldn't have a chance with him. He wasn't from my own reality. Even if hell froze over and he decided he cared about me, how in the hell would we be able to sustain a relationship? We couldn't and I was just another person who was in their lives that didn't belong there. I was nothing more than an extra there and it wasn't fair to them that I busted into their lives. When it all ended I'd either be dead or somehow put back home. How fair was it for me to screw up their lives and then just leave? I was no better than Morte and I needed to find a way out before I got in over my head. Which, I had the feeling was coming soon.

I shook my head and took notice of my surroundings. I was standing in the living room of the apartments we were given and couldn't help but heave a heavy sigh. It just was too much for me to think about. So, I quietly turned into my small wolf form and wedged myself between the back of a chair and the wall. I closed my eyes and soon fell asleep while focusing my energy on healing.

--

"Bwahahaha!" Atsuko's voice burst through my hearing and effectively woke me up. I twitched my wolf nose for a minute and caught Keiko, Shizuru, Atsuko, Kuwabara, and Yusuke's scent in the immediate area. Kurama, Hiei, Yukina, and Genkai were close by, but not as close as the others. I twitched my ears to stop the ringing and glanced around from where I was hiding.

"THAT'S THE DREADED DIRE BEAST?! HOKEY!!" Kuwabara died as I heard Keiko making "aw-ing" sounds at it. Shizuru gave a chuckled and I sensed everyone else getting a kick out of it as well.

"It sure loves perching on your hallow head!" Atsuko laughed causing me to smile a wolf-like smile.

"It takes after you, ya moron!" Yusuke growled indignantly. He sounded even more annoyed after a sigh and said, "I shoo it away, but it keeps coming back! If it takes a dump up there, I'll-" Yusuke began to growl until I caught a twitch from Puu. He landed close by and I suddenly got a really bad feeling about where I was hiding.

"Hey, he's going over to that brown fluff ball over there," Keiko said causing me to sweat. Please don't do what I think you're going to Puu! Please!

All my pleading went in vain and I felt a sudden clamping pain on the end of my tail. I let out a howl of pain and jumped from where I was hiding to flip Puu away from me. I heard him hit the chair near by and slowly slunk out from where I was hiding. I glanced around with bleary eyes and heard Hiei laughing telepathically at me. I wrinkled my canine nose and looked at Puu accusingly. I'd get Hiei back later, but the blue, floppy-eared, penguin-like thing with its scruffy black hair came first.

"It's a wolf…" Kuwabara said thoughtfully taking a moment to think. Puu on the other hand pounced on me once again and I rolled over to flip him off onto the ground. I walked over to him and plopped my hind legs on him to sit. He threw a miniature fit and I gave a bark of laughter before getting off. After moving a good distance from all of them I focused on turning into my human form.

Seconds later I was sitting on my knees and catching Puu in my chest after he took another lunge at me. I laughed and held him up saying, "Coming from someone like Yusuke, you're pretty cute you know that."

"Wha?! You can turn into a wolf?!" Kuwabara shouted falling backward and looking at me in awe.

"I didn't tell you guys? I found out I could do it back when we saved Yukina from Tarukane's mansion," I said cocking my head to the side slightly.

"NO!" Yusuke shouted causing me to laugh all over again. I looked over at Hiei and saw that he was still smirking from the bite I got on the tail. I wrinkled my nose at him and stood up holding Puu in my arms and patting him on the head.

"You know I think Puu's reflection on your soul is pretty accurate, Yusuke. You're just a fluffy guy on the inside," I smiled at him with a little giggle.

"That's it. You're dead!" Yusuke shouted jumping up and getting ready to pounce on me. I quickly handed Puu off to the safety of Keiko's arms and grabbed Yusuke just in time for him to lunge at me. I stretched my back and swept his own feet out from under him while curling my hands tightly around his wrists. I smiled and I twisted all of my weight and kneed him in the gut to the side. The fighter crashed into the empty couch closest to us and I quickly took my chance to leap away to the other side of the room.

"You seem to be feeling better," Yukina said looking at me with a smile.

"Now that you mention it, that annoying hole in my stomach seems to have closed up a little bit," I mused looking down at my shirt and seeing it in shreds. I blushed and immediately took off for my room to slam the door shut behind me. I could've cussed myself out. What the hell was I thinking not changing shirts upon coming in BEFORE I took my freaking nap?! The hole in the cloth had torn down to the bottom of the shirt and it showed my stomach. I didn't like showing a lot of skin and it didn't show anything I would normally be embarrassed about, but I didn't like the still halfway healed hole showing through.

"Are you alright, Rin?" Yukina asked knocking at the door behind me.

"Uh…yeah, I'm alright. Just a little ditzy at the moment. I'll be back out in a minute," I laughed shaking my head and smacking my forehead. I moved away and quickly grabbed another shirt to wear. I pulled off the old one with ease and then tossed on the other one. It was a red shirt with long flowing sleeves over my hands and black feathers scattered all around it. On the back was a pair of dark angel wings that spread out across the shoulders. Personally, I thought it was an awesome top and loved wearing it. I'd have to make sure I didn't wear it into any battles, because I wasn't as good as Hiei when it came to making through fights without my clothes being touched.

I gave a sigh and opened the door again to be attacked by the vicious blue fluff-ball known as Puu. I squeaked in surprise and gave the group something to hear that I usually try to keep hidden deep inside me. And I meant hidden really, really, REALLY deep inside me. It was a smaller and quieter version of a girlish scream in surprise and barely caught myself from falling over. Puu plopped himself in my arms triumphantly that he won our mini battle and the rest of the group stared at me in complete awe. Even Hiei seemed unaware that I would scream like that. I felt their eyes boring holes into me and I stare at the ground blushing twenty different shades of red. Yusuke quickly recovered and pointed at me and laughed as he said, "Wow! That was one hell of a girly scream, Rin!!"

Kuwabara and everyone else joined in the laughter causing my face to burn a brighter red than before. I looked down at Puu in embarrassment and wished he was just a stuffed animal that I could throw at the wall without hurting. Since he was not though, I gently held him and stuttered, "C-can it!!"

"We're just having some fun. Don't get so defensive, kid," Shizuru said looking at me with her normal calm face.

"Yeah! Lighten up!" Atsuko laughed at me causing my ears to burn hotter. They all had me and I had no one to blame but myself. This is what happens when you scream before you think.

"I'm…blegh. You guys win," I sighed and admitted defeat. I wrinkled my nose and allowed them all another good laugh at me. Then I gave a small yawn and continued sleepily, "Anyway, I'm going to turn in for the night. Goodnight everyone," I said handing Puu off yet again and walking back into the room to switch into pajamas. Finding a new shirt had been completely pointless, but after curling up under the covers it didn't matter to me anymore. The fights I had gotten myself into in one day hit me like a ton of bricks and every muscle in my body ached. My energy was slowly recovering itself and there was no way I could get myself off my bed even if one of my friends tried to help me. I gave a final yawn and curled under my blankets to look out the window.

"It's hard to believe we're all fighting for our lives in this tournament when you look out and see something as peaceful as that," I muttered looking at the beautiful night sky. The stars shone brightly down through the window and I closed my eyes to fall into a peaceful sleep.

--

_**ME:**_** (Whistles) Seventeen Chapters…that's the longest story I have…and I'm so proud of it. I feel kinda bad though. I missed my fic's first birthday. So sad.**

_**Hiei:**_** Once again you take the prize for number one random ramblings that mean absolutely nothing to the people who are reading this story.**

_**ME:**_** Well, duh. What do you think the A/N's are supposed to be? They're the ramblings author's feel the need to share and possibly say something genuinely important when they feel like it.**

_**Hiei:**_** Hn. Whatever.**

_**ME:**_** Plus it's a place where the readers get a little opening and closing entertainment for each chapter. Such as you promising me you'll hit me each time I make you mad in the first chapter.**

_**Hiei:**_** (Reads back over the first chapter opening and smirks) Thank you for reminding me. (Clubs me in the back of the head with the sheath of his sword.) That's been long overdue!**

_**ME:**_** (crying with swirly eyes) You're meeeeeeean. I'm going to go to bed. Waaaa. Remember you have the chance to glomp Jin next chapter. See you all later! (stops for a moment and looks at reviews. Dies and comes back happier than ever) I think I'm gonna have some fun with the next chapter when it comes. Hehe!**


	18. Down Time! Part 1

_**ME:**_** Yay! I'm so happy people love this! Now this chapter is kinda going to be a little different because I don't plan on immediately going on with the events. It's not exactly a filler chapter, but like a reviewer asked for it's a bit of a bonding and me having a little more fun chapter. There will be something similar next chapter as well.**

_**Hiei:**_** A break in the chain of violence offered by the Tournament.**

_**ME:**_** Exactly! So this is where I get to be a little friendlier with my teammates and even have some fun that doesn't make me fear for my life! lol. Anyway, I hope you aren't annoyed with this chapter because there are going to be a few more coming up since I've been sticking so strictly to the manga and this specific place gives me a little room to have some fun!**

_**Hiei:**_** If you make your writing worth reading and continue with keep you insights on the tournament as entertaining as you have I think your readers will spare you some room for fun.**

_**ME:**_** I hope you're right. Anyway I looked at the reviews and see that I'm so close to one hundred I nearly fainted! Thank You ALL for being such fantastic readers and reviewers and I promise to keep them entertaining and make them better!! **

_**Hiei:**_** She only owns her character and her wishes for a continuance of the Yu-Yu Hakusho story-line (which is unlikely to ever happen).**

_**ME:**_** Ok, so I have a promise to fulfill. Can you call Jin up, Hiei?**

_**Hiei:**_** Why can't you?**

_**ME:**_** (Holding onto something bolted to the ground.) Various reasons.**

_**Hiei:**_** (Stares at me in annoyance before calling Jin up.)**

_**Jin:**_** I'm back. Is there any reason for ya be callin' me back? Or was I just so great you couldn't keep me away?**

_**ME:**_** Jin…I love you to death buddy and I'm really sorry about this. (Walks off to the side and opens the side door. Rose dashes in first along with multiple reviewers. More dash in that I lose count and all take Jin off stage. My attempt at writing their names down failed but managed to catch sight of multiple reviewers in the head of the mob.)**

_**Hiei:**_** (Blinking in horrified amazement) There had to be nearly fifty of them. Not that many people reviewed.**

_**ME:**_** I guess it was an open invitation thing…I wonder…how many would come in for you or Kurama…hmm…..**

_**Hiei:**_** Don't even think about it!**

_**ME:**_** Heehee. Chapter start!**

**-------------**

_**This has nothing to do with the chapter, but all readers need to know this. I recently suffered a computer crash and lost ALL my files. Thanks to a computer god I was able to get most of it all back within a week, but we're still doing damage control to see how much I actually lost. So there are maintenance things to do and actually trying to find things on my computer that aren't gone yet. It's also running slower than it ever has. I'll work to get the other part out soon. Just bear with me. Thank you all! **_

**-------------**

_**Chapter 18: Down Time! Whoot! (Part 1)**_

I awoke the next morning feeling absolutely rejuvenated from the night before and felt the wound on my stomach had completely healed. I seriously loved demonic healing. It was a beautiful thing. It was then that I remembered the girlish scream and smiled in spite of myself. I was going to have to live that down and funny enough I looked forward to it. Maybe if I gave a chance at getting to know them all personally instead of what I knew in the manga I'd learn not to snap so easily at them. After all they were real people and not so easily explained now that they had their own minds to see. I couldn't rely on what I had been told anymore.

I yawned and slowly sat up to see that the sun wasn't even up yet. That was something new for me. I usually slept till noon. Stranger still, I just couldn't go back to sleep. It just wouldn't happen. I closed my eyes and curled up under the covers, but sleep just would not come. That in itself meant something was going to happen today and I just couldn't put my finger on what. I always woke up earlier than I was supposed to when I sensed something was going to happen later on in the day. The only thing was I didn't know if it was going to be good or not. So, I pushed myself out of the bed and grabbed my shirt from the night before and jeans before heading to the bathroom I had in my room. I quickly took a shower to wash the dried blood from my body and put on the outfit. I silently made my way over to the door and opened it without making a single sound. I glanced around and saw that everyone was still asleep.

I tiptoed past the other doors and dashed outside as fast as my legs could take me. My chakram banged lightly against my hips and I maneuvered away from the apartments to make it into the woods. I quietly made my way through the trees and stopped at a lake in the middle of a clearing. It was beautiful. The trees grew naturally and looked unrivaled by anything I say grown by man. The water sparkled beautifully in the morning light and there was still a little bit of morning dew on the grass. I felt a little bit of my heart ache for home and realized how much this little scene reminded me of a trip my mom and I had taken together. I smiled and slipped to the waters edge to take my shoes off. I might as well enjoy myself a little.

"The water looks to clear," I muttered slipping my bare feet into the water. A small chill came over me and I smiled to let the feeling wash over me. I wouldn't go in farther incase some demon came up on me, but I had to admit that the island did have its upsides. It was peaceful, beautiful, and overall the kind of place I would want to come for a vacation. I smiled and looked around to see a gentle breeze drifting through the trees around me. It rustled the trees around me and it sounded like a song had been started. Leaved rubbed against one another and then some flew out to dance around me in the sun that was slowly rising. It felt so natural that I temporarily forgot where I was and fell into my own little world.

No one was around and I felt my throat feel a little strange. It had been a long time since I had sung and there was no one around to judge me. It was the perfect opportunity and I was not one to waste it if I saw it. After all, how many times would I have the chance to sing after this? If Morte kept interfering I was going to have very little time to myself. So it would be better for me to use my alone time to its fullest. One of my messed up priorities was singing. So I sang.

"_And this will not remain, forever. However it's beautiful. Your eyes, hands, and your warm smile, they're my treasure. It's hard to forget. I wish there was a solution. Don't spend your time in confusion. I'll turn back now and spread my broken wings. Still strong enough to cross the ocean with. My broken wings. How far should I go drifting in the wind? Higher and higher in the light. My broken wings. Still strong enough to cross the ocean with. My broken wings. How far should I go drifting in the wind? Across the sky just keep on flying. Did I ever chain you down to my heart 'cause I was afraid of you? No, I couldn't hold any longer. Love is not a toy. Let go of me now. The time we spent is perpetual. Our future is not real. So, I'll leap into the air. My broken wings. Still strong enough to cross the ocean with. My broken wings. How far should I go drifting in the wind? Higher and higher in the light. My broken wings. Still strong enough to cross the ocean with. My broken wings. How far should I go drifting in the wind? Across the sky just keep on flying."_

The sound of my voice echoed slightly through the area and made it sound a little better than it originally was. I smiled at myself and let the wind blow my short choppy hair around. I suddenly remembered it was still uneven from the match and sat down with my feet still in the water to pull a knife out of my pockets. I began evening the ends out when I heard someone's feet coming up behind me. I went rigid and strained my ears in an attempt to hear how close they were. How could I let myself zone so far out?! Especially with demons around! Damn it. Who was coming up on me?

"Well, aren't you multitalented? I was unaware your similarity to a bird and their annoying morning calls," a voice behind me said almost causing me to fall into the water head first anime style. I straightened up with a sweatdrop and wrinkled my nose at the cheap shot I received. What an ass our favorite swordsman could be.

"If you were sleeping like everyone else instead of lurking around in the shadows twenty-four seven we wouldn't have that problem. You're the one who just happened to be around the area I came to for some alone time," I muttered finishing my hair and putting the knife away in my pocket. I leaned back enough so I could look up at Hiei and found he was standing directly behind me. Jeeze, how'd he get that close to me? I smiled at him anyway and then looked back out to the water saying, "So I'm going to guess you heard all of that, am I right?"

"Hn," Hiei answered moving to the side and sitting beside me. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye and watched him as he looked out at the water intently. We sat in silence for a few minutes and enjoyed the peaceful morning that had fallen on all of us. It was refreshing just sitting beside a friend a enjoying the morning we sometimes take for granted. It was enough to make you think about what to do when you're not fighting for your life. Although, I halfway expected to get ignored some more by Hiei he moved a little and asked, "What was that song?"

"Something I learned back home. It's called Broken Wings," I replied in a conversational voice. Hiei wasn't one to usually have light talks so I was going to let him say whatever he wanted to. It wouldn't matter to me or not if they were mean. After all, it was the least I could do for him for all the times he saved my sorry ass. So, I glanced at him with a smile and said, "Let me guess. I was off key?"

"No," Hiei said quickly surprising me. I looked at him sideways and he looked away as if nothing had been said at all. Silence fell once again and I lightly moved my feet in the water to keep them from getting too cold. He cleared his throat and said, "To my knowledge, not many we know sing."

"Uh-huh. Well, I'm just a little oddball. But, if it's that big of a deal for a person to sing around here, I'm going to have to start singing a little more often. I'm like a walking music box. I can pull a song off the top of my head as quickly as you can unsheathe your sword, kill someone, and put it back," I answered with a smile and looked at Hiei who was watching the water intently. I couldn't understand what it was that he was getting at, but I had the strangest feeling that my singing didn't bother him. Maybe and only maybe, it reminded him of something that he didn't want to part ways with. This made a random question pop into my mind that I wouldn't ever voice aloud to anyone but me. I wondered if Hiei's mother sang to him and Yukina when they were in the womb. My mother did and I remembered the sounds and comfort that came with it all. Maybe that was why I always loved to sing. Although…I couldn't guarantee how it sounded to some people.

I wasn't the greatest of singers by far. There was no way. My voice seemed to like the sharp sounds when I went for high notes and when I went too low it hit a lame flat note that made me instantly stop singing and act as if nothing happened. At home I wanted to take voice lessons, but had been frequently told that any lessons before sixteen would hurt my vocal cords. I could only learn to breathe and focus on the basics before my sixteenth birthday. It irritated me to no end, but then again…I wasn't exactly ready to sing out in public either. So it all seemed to have worked out for the best. I kept my voice only to my friends who were frequently forced to listen. Haha.

"Hn. Just don't get yourself captured out here on your own," Hiei answered slowly standing. He glanced at me for a minute and I swore there was a strange smirk on his face.

"Trust me, I won't. Then you guys will have to play the knights in shining armor and that role is so annoyingly overrated," I said standing and smiling at him. He gave me his favorite monosyllable and began walking away. I looked back at him and stopped him saying, "One more thing, Hiei." He turned back and looked at me expectantly. I smiled a little wider and said, "Next time let me know you're listening so I can choose a little more appropriate song and not make a fool of myself alright?"

"Hn," Hiei answered closing his eyes and turning around. All that was left of him seconds later was his fading afterimage and I couldn't help but wonder where he came from or if I had walked in on him in a time of peace and quiet. I didn't think too much of it though because Hiei was one of those people who let their presence known when it was alright to talk and left when it was not. I could predict when I was touching a sensitive subject when he withdrew and when he stayed it was fine. I just had to remember not to let my tongue get ahead of my mind because it was then that I could lose the trust I was slowly beginning to get from him.

I slowly stood and took my feet out of the water. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do then because it was still too early for anyone else to be awake and I couldn't very well just wake them up. I was determined to get back in time to have breakfast with the girls, but what would I do until then? It bugged me not knowing what was going to happen later on and I felt something spinning in my mind. Something was definitely up and I had the faintest idea that it wasn't so good.

"Well, lookit that. I see someone from ol' Urameshi team!" a bouncy voice said behind me causing me to jump. Was it 'Sneak-up-on-Rin-Day' and I missed the memo?! I spun on my heels halfway expecting to be attacked until there was a certain red-head with a horn in the middle of his hair floating upside down just before my face. It surprised me and I stumbled back almost missing the rock next to the bank. Almost was the keyword in that phrase because the back of my heel caught the stone and I almost crashed into the shallow water of the lake.

Jin was a little faster than me though, and flew behind me to stable me. Instead of getting all the way soaked only below my shins were drenched. Jin helped me back onto the grass and then floated out around me to give me some space. I wrung the bottoms of my pants out and then looked up to him saying, "I bet you got a kick out of that one."

"Heehee," Jin said with a smile causing me to shake my head. He let his feet touch the ground and the wind instantly died down. He looked at me curiously with those child-like eyes and asked, "Whacha doin' out here? It's pretty early to be takin' a walk."

"I just needed some fresh air and some beautiful scenery before the fighting. As strange as that might sound coming from a demon," I muttered grabbing my shoes and moving so I could put them on without getting wet again. I glanced up when I was done and saw Jin watching me carefully.

"Its not a strange thing at all to be wantin' some fresh air. It's the reason we wanted this island in the first place," Jin answered in a serious tone that I hadn't seen on him before. I watched him now and saw that he was a little bit more thoughtful than the anime and manga depicted him. His eyes were deep and through them you could tell he wanted to have a peaceful place like this to stay to think. He and Hiei were alike in that way. They could enjoy the peace around them and they could appreciate the things like nature around them. They were demons and naturally had fighting souls, but at the same time there was a liking for some peace they both had.

"Hey Jin," I began after a moment of watching him. He glanced up from thread he was messing with on his outfit and cocked his head to the side as I asked, "What's it like to fly like you did over the arena and everything?"

The biggest grin I ever saw crossed his face and he said in great spirits, "Its amazing! Floatin' about up there with nothin' but you and the wind. It makes you want to sing, that it does. But you'll never understand unless you try it for yourself. I can show ya if you'd like."

The last bit of his rant caught me off guard and I looked at him for a moment in awe. Would Jin really show me what it was like flying above the ground without anything between me and the wind? The thought was interesting and I almost said no because I was afraid of being hurt. Then again, I wasn't the smartest person in the world and the thought of flying really perked my interest.

"You'd really be willing to show me?" I asked looking at him curiously.

"That I would. Just take a hold of my hand," Jin answered with a smile as he held his hand out to me. I looked at him curiously for a moment almost afraid to take his hand. It wasn't that I didn't trust him, but accepting much from people I shouldn't even know was becoming harder for me. The thoughts that I was going to ruin their lives wouldn't leave me alone and I didn't want to be an instrument of doom or death for Morte. Yet, Jin and Hiei and Kurama and all the others made me feel like nothing like that would happen. So I quickly dismissed the feeling and stepped closer to Jin to take his hand. His hand was slightly bigger than my own and he held onto me tightly saying, "This might be a little rough."

A jerk shot through my body and my feet were pulled from the ground to dangle in the air. Wind slammed into my face and brought tears to my eyes as I clung to Jin for safety. He laughed and we shot into the air faster than before. I halfway wanted to close my eyes in fear, but instead looked out around us as we went. Even the word beautiful didn't describe what I thought it was. Jin finally stopped when we were so high over the island that it looked small enough for me to put my foot over and crush it. Finally, I was able to look around at everything else since we had stopped moving up.

"Wow," I whispered staring in awe at everything around us. The air was so clean and crisp as it blew around us and the sun shone on us in a way that was different than when you were standing on the ground. The water below us looked like a sapphire and sparkled as the sun began to rise over it. I had my breath taken away at the sight of the beautiful nature on the island and couldn't believe places that hadn't been touched by humans differed so much from where we lived. It was true humans had a way of building buildings with breathtaking views and beautiful designs, but nothing compared to the raw beauty I was seeing of nature.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Jin asked looking at me and I realized that I was still holding on to him to keep from falling. A small blush burned my face and ears and I focused my attention elsewhere.

"I can see why you and your team wanted this island. Its absolutely beautiful," I said in a breathy kind of voice.

"Well…would ya like to see what flying is like?" he asked looking at me.

"What does that mean?" I asked suspiciously as a large smile crossed his face. Instead of answering me he put his hands on one of my arms and suddenly threw me away from him into the air. I almost screamed, but was stopped when a wind current caught me and held me up in the air. I started almost hyperventilating until I calmed myself down and realized that Jin was giving me the chance to fly like he did. I looked over at him and called, "How do I do this?"

"Just think of what ya want to do and then fly," Jin answered shooting past me and sending me off balance. It took a few moments for me to recover, but once I had I shot forward after him. It was as easy as riding a bike. I had to lean certain ways to direct myself and I only had to wish to go faster to do so. I spiraled and wheeled and dipped and almost anything else I wanted to as I flew after Jin and smiled whenever he told me to try something out. The wind flowing through my hair and blowing past me refreshed my energy and I felt completely relaxed.

I shot up a little higher and then flipped on my back to fly on an air current. I let the wind wash over my body and my hair whipped around my face. It was one of the best feelings I ever had. My speed demon nature kicked in and I pushed myself to shoot forward as fast as I could. Laughter escaped my lips and I spun through the air to leave a spiral of clouds behind me.

"Now, I see why you can be so laid back about things. This is fantastic!" I called out to him flying on my back and watching the clouds fly by. It was amazing and there was no way to truly describe it. I loved the feeling of being so free and floating there in the air above everything that happened on the ground was fun.

"It's a great feelin' to be above it all. Nothin' to bug you. Nothin' in the world to care about," Jin said floating happily over me. I smiled and nodded my head in agreement. I was about to challenge him to a race, which I knew I would lose, but he looked me in the eyes and said, "What were you doin with that fella in black before I came up?"

I was caught off guard and looked at Jin in surprise. Why did he want to know about what Hiei and I were talking about? It didn't make any sense. I composed myself and said, "Well, he snuck up on me after I sang something and then left. Nothing really. Why do you want to know?"

"I heard that. What was it you called it?" Jin asked looking at me and ignored the question as if I had never asked it.

"Broken Wings and you heard it?" I said looking at in suspiciously. I was really beginning to wonder if I had walked in on two people this morning rather than them coincidentally appearing around me. Or something just a suspicious happened.

"Yep. I heard it all. Nice tune," Jin laughed suddenly shooting past me toward the ground. I was sent spinning once again and it took way longer to get myself righted this time. I shook my head and shot after him as fast as I could.

"Get back here! You didn't answer my other question!" I shouted shooting after him. We dove toward the ground at an insane speed, but neither of us slowed any. I was pushing myself as fast as I could and Jin didn't seem too worried about it. That is, until he looked back and I was almost on his back. He spun around and I tackled him to effectively knock off his balance. We went crashing into the trees and Jin wrapped his arms around me as we hit various tree branches. We finally crashed into the same lake we were by before and we were effectively soaked to the bone. Jin and I swam up to get some air and looked at one another in surprise.

Instead of apologizing like I intended to though, I bust out laughing at what Jin looked like completely wet. His once crazy red hair was washed down around his face and looked like a lion who's mane got in the way of his face. It was entertaining to say the least, but Jin didn't get as much enjoyment out of it as I did.

"Is that how it is?" Jin asked shooting out of the water and floating over me in annoyance. He stared down at me after shaking his head and I moved the hair from my face as well.

"I'm sorry, Jin! I didn't mean to laugh and I didn't mean to throw you into the tree either! Are you alright? No injuries or wounds opened?" I called out to him curiously. He looked at me in confusion for a moment before shaking his head.

"In tip-top shape, I am. No need to be worryin' about me," Jin said floating down to me and extending his hand. I took it and he lifted me out of the water to set me on a boulder next to the water. I wrung my clothes out and Jin hovered over me watching. I shook my hair in a wolfish manner and looked up to see him grinning.

"What are you smiling about up there?" I asked curiously.

"You're not an exception to the fact all us demons act like what our powers are inclined to. For you it's being a wolf!" he answered grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Yeah well, this wolf bites. Remember that," I laughed sliding off the boulder and looking at the Wind Master. I then looked up to the sun to see that it was a little higher in the sky than before and said, "I need to be getting back. The others will be waking up soon and I was planning on having breakfast with them. We'll have to meet up again later and see who wins the next game of tag. How does that sound, Jin?"

"Sounds good t' me. Be seein' ya!" Jin answered before bolting off. I shook my head and looked back to the apartment when a sudden thought came to mind. I really hope Hiei didn't see any of that exchange. Oh man…I REALLY hope he didn't see ANY of that.

I quickly pushed the thought aside and began jogging back to the apartments while using some of my fire power to warm and dry myself. I just managed to get completely dry when I walked into the mini cafeteria to see Botan, Shizuru, Keiko, Yukina, and Atsuko walking in from the other entrance. The immediately caught sight of me and waved for me to join them. I happily obliged and sat down between Yukina and Shizuru. There was no one else in the cafeteria of the apartments except the workers and that meant that we'd be able to talk alone. I smiled at them and said, "Good morning. How are you guys?"

"Are you feeling better from our little fun yesterday?" Shizuru asked looking at me emotionlessly.

"Oh yeah. I just got a little too flustered. Sorry about that. Anyway, is Puu with Yusuke?" I asked looking at them with a smile. It was contagious and they all smiled as well. It was Keiko-no surprise-who answered.

"Yeah. He seemed kind of annoyed when you went to bed. It was like he didn't have anyone to play with so he went to bugging Yusuke instead," Keiko laughed as we all laughed with her. I could imagine Puu messing relentlessly with Yusuke in an attempt to play since Yusuke wasn't all grown up yet. He still had his kid-like nature whether he liked it or not. Then again I wondered if Yusuke really thought of me as a buddy like Puu seemed to show. Maybe I could learn a little more from that blue, loveable, ball of fluff.

"Do you think you'll be ok for the next fight?" Yukina asked in concern, "The other were working on healing themselves yesterday, but I was wondering if you needed any help."

"Oh, I'm alright. No worries at all," I said with a smile as we ordered what we wanted to eat. I picked a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs and we all began eating as we talked.

"So, how have you been? I haven't seen you since we all thought Yusuke was dead," Atsuko asked me after downing a cup of coffee.

"Oh, I've been pretty good. Bugging Yusuke and everyone else. Just here to make things a little more interesting," I answered with a smile. In truth I was really mooching off of them because they provided me with money, food, clothes, a place to live, and various other things. I was beginning to wonder if they would get tired of having me around sometime soon.

"Well, you're welcome anytime kid!" Atsuko smiled at me as she downed a little more coffee. I sweatdropped and imagined what she was going to be like in a little while. I was beginning to plot the ways to escape it incase I needed to.

"Same here. If you ever need a place to stay our house is always open," Shizuru lightly patted me on the shoulder as she offered up a place to stay.

"You guys are very generous, but unless something happens to the apartment the Reikai gave me I'll leave you alone," I smiled in reply. They laughed and the morning went on to us talking about the people at the tournament.

"Yusuke really seems at home here, you know? I couldn't tell him to leave even if I wanted to," Keiko said after I made a comment on the matches we had gone through. She put her chin on her hands and said, "I had dreams where Yusuke would be beating up a bunch of ogres to be the champ, but I never thought it'd be real."

"Yusuke's among people he relates to. It's kinda fun to watch him around everyone here. He's even made some great friends like Chu and Jin. But don't worry, Keiko. Nothing's going to happen to Yusuke here. He's too much of a combat junkie," I reassured her in a way that I knew she'd understand. The message was easy for her to get and she seemed to calm down.

Our talk continued from there and it could've been classified as straight girl talk. We went from talking about the tournament to a movie that was out, books, music we all listened to, and anything else that made us laugh and get closer to know more about each other. It was kind of nice because I felt a little more at home and I felt more like I was becoming their friend. We talked about some of the demons that were in the tournament and what we were going to do as soon as it was done. They speculated on what our boys would want when they won and got the wish. Each idea was funnier than the last. Imagining the ridiculous things they'd want got us all laughing and I actually started crying.

"That's just great. Oh man I haven't laughed that hard for a while," I sighed wiping my eyes clean of the tears. The last idea rang clear through my mind and I began laughing all over again.

"Oh the things we can come up with if we all work together!" Botan laughed sitting back away from her plate.

"Its too bad we can't use these to make the guys laugh," Keiko said blushing slightly. That made Atsuko laugh even harder and I slapped my forehead.

"Can you imagine what they'd do to us if they heard some of these ideas?! Hiei would slit my throat. They'd ALL miss the humor of it all!" I laughed putting my hand on the table for stability. Yukina went on to say something else, but a chill hit my spine causing me to sit straight up and my face freeze. The hair on the back of my neck bristled and a lump lodged itself in the middle of my chest. The girls instantly stopped and looked at me in worry. I felt my body temperature fall and I managed to gasp out, "Something…no someone is here."

It didn't take a rocket-scientist to figure out who it was. There was only one other person who could make my demon energy and body act that way besides Hiei. It was a certain evil wench named Morte and with her coming into the picture I knew there was going to be absolute hell.

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_**ME:**_** Well, how's that for an exciting filler? I had a little more bonding (which was needed), some flirting (which was requested), and the next chapter will continue and have a hell of a lot more fighting (which can not be forgotten). Overall, I think it was a great chapter for something that had absolutely NOTHING to deal with the actual storyline. Oh and the song that was used is Broken Wings from Trinity Blood.**

_**Hiei:**_** Exactly what were you and the others laughing at?**

_**ME:**_** Absolutely nothing you need to know about. Another curious question is, where has Jin and his mob of fans gone?**

_**Hiei:**_** They haven't gotten back. Something tells me you're going to have to do something big to make it up to Jin.**

_**ME:**_** Of course, Jin might not be the only one I do that to.**

_**Hiei:**_** Don't even think about it! (Attempts to knock me unconscious, but sword bounces off the helmet I received from Shadowess 88.)**

_**ME:**_** HA! I have the power of the reviewers on my side! Anyway, I hoped you all liked the filler chapter and it wasn't much of a disappointment. We'll be getting on with the storyline pretty soon. I just thought that there should be a little more to it than just the story and see how that goes. A new chapter will be coming soon! Love you all and hope you enjoyed!**


	19. Down Time! Part 2

_**ME:**_** OMG! I HAVE MORE THAN ONE-HUNDRED REVIEWS! OMG! (Brings out the little mini guns full of confetti and starts firing them off all over the place.) This is freaking fantastic! I love my readers, reviewers, and EVERYONE who's been helping me have such a great time with this story!**

_**Hiei:**_** (Pulls out various pieces of confetti from his hair and glares at me.) You may want to call off the mob chasing Jin right about now.**

_**ME:**_** Oh yeah. You're right! (whistles and calls all the reviewers back. They come, if not very grudgingly, and leave through the door they came. I quickly close it and lock it so no excited people get through without my say so.) Ok now do me a favor, Hiei. I need you to go find Jin for me and bring him back here. If he's hurt give him this (hands him a bottle of handmade medicine that'll heal him on the spot).**

_**Hiei:**_** Why can't you do that?**

_**ME:**_** Because I have to finish everything for the chapter and tell the readers something. When you bring Jin back I'll also have an apology thing set up for him and hopefully he'll still be my good buddy. After I suck up a lot, of course.**

_**Hiei:**_** Hn. Whatever. (Walks off in search of wherever poor Jin had been taken.)**

_**ME:**_** Ok, thank you to everyone who reviewed and I hope you like this chapter like the last one. This will have a lot more violence in it and some more Morte action that you all seem too like. I find it great that you guys seem to react so much to her. She's becoming the villainess I never thought I could create. I mean she is a real pain in the ass, but you all love to hate her it seems. Which makes me happy. So I will do more to include her and some kick-ass scenes too. Morte will have a little bigger part in the chapters to come. Well, let's get this action filled chapter underway shall we? I don't own the storyline but I do own my characters. Chapter start.**

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_**Chapter 19: Down Time! Whoot! (Part 2)**_

It didn't take a rocket-scientist to figure out who it was. There was only one other person who could make my demon energy and body act that way besides Hiei. It was a certain evil wench named Morte and with her coming into the picture I knew there was going to be absolute hell.

I stood up slowly because I felt as if all my energy was locked inside me again like Hiei had done before and tried to breathe normally. I turned toward the entrance I came in and stopped where I was. There was a sight I wish I didn't have to see so early in the day. It was official then that my day was officially shot.

Morte was standing there with her cat-ears twitching evilly. It was like a cat that cornered a mouse and was preparing to pounce. The smile she had on her face sent chills down my spine and I unconsciously dug my nails into the palms of my hand. She moved her hair out of her face and I realized that it had grown a bit since we first met. Her dark blue eyes locked on me in seconds and though she had her bangs over her Jagan, I knew she also had it focused on me. Morte was going to pull out every trick in the book this time. She was wearing an almost revealing white sleeveless-top and a long white skirt with a long slit on the left leg stopping at her lower thigh. It was meant to show off every curve she had and one had to admit, and I did so jealously, that she had a great body that would make the guys want to stare. She smiled demonically and began walking toward me. What the hell did she want?

"Who's that?" Shizuru asked glancing at her curiously. Her eyes narrowed on the approaching demoness and the others seemed to tense. Atsuko placed her mug on the table and held the back of her chair. Yukina moved to stand and Keiko pushed her chair a little from the table.

"Nothing but trouble," Botan answered jumping to her feet and stood by my side. She lightly grabbed my arm and whispered, "We're here with you, Rin. She's not going to try anything here. You're not alone."

"You have…no idea what…she'll do…Oh no…that bitch," I swallowed remembering the deal we had made. There was a loophole in it that I hadn't realized until just now and it made my heart pound wildly against my chest. She said that I couldn't lose any match or she would attack the less inclined to fight of our friends. When she said that we had the deal, she didn't mean that it started at that exact moment. No, that manipulative wench meant that it started that round. To get technical, I lost the fight against Gama. He flat out beat me and that meant she was coming to make good on her promise. She was a step ahead of me. I felt my arm shake and whispered, "You guys need to get out of here. Now. I'm not playing with you guys. Just get moving and I'll handle the rest."

"What are you talking about?" Keiko said as Morte's stride increased a bit.

"Well, I imagine you know what I'm here for by the look you're giving me, Rin Ishida," Morte purred as she stopped only a little ways away from us. I stepped completely in front of all my friends and she merely laughed, "I thought we had a deal. Are you telling me that you want to go back on that now? I thought you had more honor than that."

"You twisted hag! You aren't going to take them for something that was done before our deal! I swore that I'd win against the people you put me against. I won't let you put one hand on my friends and I promised you'd get your twisted entertainment to keep them safe! This has NOTHING to deal with the fight I lost against Gama damn it!" I nearly shouted as Morte caused a table near us to explode from the shadows she threw at it. I flinched back and she finally decided to use her Jagan against me. As soon as her bangs parted to show her eye, I stumbled back against the table and felt a bruise instantly form where my back connected with it. I struggled with everything I had to force her power away from me and managed to keep myself from getting blurred vision. I couldn't move as easily as I should've been able to, but I was completely aware of my surroundings. Now, it was only a matter of using my control and actually making a difference.

"I'll just finish a little business with you and then kill them!" Morte said jumping forward and reaching out to my neck. The tips of her fingers brushed my skin and out of complete reflex I through my hands forward to send an electric shock. She was sent soaring back into a few tables and toppled over them. A chair was demolished as she slammed into it and I watched each individual splinter of wood fly in the air.

"Darn…I hope I didn't rip the outfit. It looked nice. Well, you know, beside the slut factor," I said feeling like I could breathe again. I took advantage of my ability to move and moved to take a fighting stance. I pulled out my chakram and called back at the others, "Now would be the time to get out of here, you know!"

"We can't leave you here alone!" Yukina objected looking at me worriedly. My heart plummeted and I genuinely felt bad for her caring about what happened to me. Yukina was too nice and kind to care about me. Especially considering the danger I had brought on her and her friends. Why did she have to be so nice?!?!

"I can handle it! Get going!" I shouted over my shoulder at them. I shouldn't have sounded so short with them, but more than anything I wanted them to get out of the area to safety while Morte was occupied. I took a breath as Morte stood up and threw the table away from her in anger. I smirked and said, "We're going to destroy this little area aren't we?"

"Oh hell yeah," Morte answered forgetting her business with the others and cracking her neck. She looked at me for a moment and then said, "Let's do this the old fashion way shall we? Fists and powers only. Or any other weapon we can find with these tables around, but not your chakram or my weapons."

"Screw that. It's weapons and if you don't have one you're shit out of luck. I refuse to let you reword another deal," I growled angrily at her. There was no way in hell I would let her twist my words again. No, I was foolish to let it happen in the first place.

"So you can learn. What a good sign. For now anyway," Morte said lunging at me with her shadows in tow. I leapt forward as well and when we clashed a bunch of shadows spun around us. I began using every ounce of grace I had to dance with her in our furious fight and managed to land a few good hits on her while she did the same. If anyone came in and didn't know much about fighting they would think it was planned because the way we moved was too flowing and we could see what the other was going to do before they did.

She finally managed to off balance me and threw me into a clump of nearby tables. I pushed myself up and noticed my chakram weren't helping in any way. I quickly hooked them on my hips and rolled my wrists until they cracked. I jumped up and caught Morte as she was running at me. I flipped her over me and dodged around a table in an attempt to get some kind of leverage to use. It didn't exactly work as I planned because Morte was on her feet in seconds and grabbed a plate to throw at my head. I dodged out of the way and looked up again to see Morte right in front of me. She threw a punch and popped my jaw with the force of the impact. I managed to grab the next punch and throw her back to land my own. We stood there for a few seconds using the other as punching backs until we pushed one another back and she grabbed another plate. She launched it straight at my head once again, but instead of merely dodging, I jumped clean over it and landed on her shoulders. She slammed into the ground and I began punching her repeatedly with lightning coursing through my arms. A bead of sweat ran down my face and I focused on keeping my breathing in control. There was no way I could let this fall to her advantage.

Of course, Morte wasn't going to take any of that lying down and suddenly hit me square in the middle of the chest with a shadow attack. I flew into the air and crashed flat on top of a table. It broke beneath my impact and the next thing I knew was that I was lying in the middle of what was left of the wood. It was almost impossible for me to breathe, but I jumped up and caught Morte standing right in front of me. We initiated yet another punching fiasco. It quickly stopped though when we both threw something at one another that caught us both off guard. I threw in a kick out of nowhere. Morte's jaw met the heel of my foot and I met with a knee to the gut. She threw me away from her and I crashed on the ground. I rolled over and coughed while looking up to see Yukina was the only one left while the others had fled.

"Didn't I tell you to get out of here?!" I shouted pushing myself up and rolling away from Morte throwing another attack. I sensed rage boiling in her and I knew this confrontation was getting even more dangerous than before.

"Stay down!" Yukina called out lifting her hands up. I saw frost begin to form and instantly knew she had something planned.

"Yes ma'am," I answered ducking down and covering my head. Seconds later there was a shockwave of ice that flew through the air and then quiet. I slowly got up and looked over at Yukina in surprise. She was a little unsteady on her feet, but smiled as she looked at Morte. I glanced back and saw my enemy on the complete other side of the room and in clear pain. There was a light frost through the room and I quickly dusted myself off. That helped me more than I thought it would.

"You have to finish it," Yukina answered falling into one of the chairs near her.

"Not a problem," I answered dashing at Morte between the tables. I didn't give her the chance to get back up before I was tackling her and punching away. Morte still had a lot of fight in her though, and kicked me straight over her. I rolled through the light frost Yukina had called around us and felt Morte pounce on my back. I rolled some more until we were both facing one another and rolling like they did in the cartoons when two people were fighting each other. If it was a different situation I might've laughed, but thought better of it incase she had something hidden up her sleeve.

Morte slammed me onto my back and began strangling me until I kicked my legs up and wrapped them around her neck. I arched my back with everything I had and pulled her away from me. I sat up and instantly jumped on her to lay multiple punches to her face. Morte couldn't immediately defend and it took a minute or so for her to grab one punch and twist to the side unseating me. My leg slammed against a table and sent pain shooting through it. I hissed in pain, but grabbed Morte by her hair and slammed her head into the table near her. I repeated the process several times and tried to knock her unconscious.

"Damn you!" Morte shouted spinning around and punching me so hard in the gut that I flipped over the table behind me. I was quick to recover and jump to my feet, but to my surprise she wasn't running toward me. She was making her way to Yukina shouting, "I'll just take care of the problem I originally came for!"

"NO!" I screamed throwing all the energy I had left into my legs and ran between the tables. I used speed I never had before, but that was because I was throwing my legs into overdrive to get there. The muscles were straining and I felt something come close to snapping in my legs, but it didn't matter. I had the whole room to cross in a short time and it was almost like the ceiling in Maze Castle. Had it gone far enough, Yusuke would've temporarily shot his arms to keep it up because of the power exerted in the effort. That was what I was doing to my legs and I knew it, but pushed them harder than I had ever done before. Morte was a blur as I shot past her and slammed my feet into the ground to stop before Yukina. The muscles in both of my legs gave out on me and I used my demon energy to keep myself standing with my hands spread out for any punishment Morte had to give. She was throwing her shadows around and I knew that this was going to knock me out for a while if it didn't make me insane first.

"Time for payback!" Morte screeched throwing her attack forward. I watched it carefully and time seemed to slow. It was in that instant as she stood only a foot away multiple things happened. Five presences shot into the room at top speed and spread out to different locations. A rose scent entered the room and another Jagan came into the picture except this one was a little friendlier. I blinked and when I opened my eyes again I saw the strategic placement of all my comrades. Damn they were good.

Hiei was at my side with his own Jagan glaring at the enemy and his sword was pointing at Morte's throat. Kurama stood a little ways behind her with his Rose Whip out and ready to pin Morte down where she stood. Yusuke and Genkai put themselves completely opposite of one another and stood with their hands ready to shoot their attacks if Morte made a wrong move. Kuwabara was standing behind me with his Aura Sword out, but a little more focused on protecting Yukina than anything else. With all of my comrades near me in this fashion I knew there was no way Morte would finish the attack now. She was a little more inclined to fighting fights she was sure she could win with ease and not be ganged up on.

"Come on, Morte. Finish the attack. I'm standing right here," I said quietly looking her in the eyes. She wouldn't let her face show any emotion, but I could see clearly in her eyes that she didn't like that she just got outnumbered. It wasn't true fear because she knew they wouldn't kill her unless she advanced further, but she was infuriated that she would have to back down to keep her throat from being slit.

"You win this round, Rin. But I assure you. Lose another match and I'll be back faster than you think. You won't know what hit you," Morte said calling shadows along her entire body. Seconds later she was gone before our very eyes and all that was left was a small breeze bringing up swirls from the frost Yukina called.

"Bitch," I muttered as my legs gave out and I collapsed right beside Hiei. It happened so quickly none of them knew what to do and were surprised because I didn't seem to have any injuries. I gave them a thumb up and said, "I'm alright. I just strained my legs to get here before she could hurt Yukina. I was on the complete other side of the room in the corner, so it was one hell of a run."

"Damn…you guys sure caused a lot of damage," Yusuke noted as he dropped his offensive stance and walked over to us. Everyone else followed and Kuwabara helped Yukina to her feet. They looked around taking in the damage and I followed their eyes. I had to admit I was curious at what the hell I managed to help cause. I was amazed that it was all because of a two person scuffle. There were shattered plates all around the room and multiple chairs and tables were reduced to splinters…damn we did cause a lot of damage.

"I hope we don't have to pay for it. I mean they should've known a few demons would've had a brawl somewhere they weren't supposed to. Come on. With all the tense emotions and all that," I said pushing myself up to my feet as well with the help of the wall. They screamed in protest and I flinched slightly. I turned my attention to the group and continued, "So did the girls tell you or what?"

"We were already on our way down before they came running up to us," Kurama answered gesturing me to sit down in a chair. I did and he continued, "We sensed Morte's power and intentions down by you. Then we sense your own power suppressed like it always does when you face a Jagan. It didn't take long for us to realize what was going on and were hurrying to make sure nothing happened."

"It seems we wouldn't have had to do too much more. That last attack was a halfhearted attempt. The demoness couldn't even see straight," Hiei sniffed glancing at the room and then to Yukina. I could see he was proud of his little sister using her powers to protect herself and I had to admit I was too. It worried me that Yukina couldn't fight, but then again she could freeze an entire room if she saw the need to.

"Are your legs alright?" Genkai asked looking at me from her mask.

"They should be. I just strained them to get over to Yukina as fast as I could. They should be alright after I let them rest a little bit," I answered looking at them for a moment. I halfway wished I could put them back in the lake water to cool them down because they felt like they were on fire, but I figured a bath would be a better choice.

"Do you need help getting back to the rooms where the girls are?" Yusuke asked looking at in concern.

"I don't know," I said truthfully. I pushed myself to my feet once again and walked toward the door. My knees gave out and I almost fell except Hiei appeared by my side to catch me. I closed one eye in annoyance and Hiei turned his head over his shoulder to speak to the others.

"We'll have to support both of them back," he said simply as Kuwabara helped Yukina back to the room. Hiei helped me and the others followed right behind us. We went into an elevator and they pushed in the floor.

"Did any of you see the actual fight or just come in at the end?" I inquired as I watched the light above the door shine on the floors we were passing.

"Hiei was watching it carefully with his third-eye as we were running. I'm sure he saw quite a bit of it," Kurama replied causing me to look at the demon in black in surprise. He looked at Kurama with his annoyed almond-like eyes and then returned his gaze to the door in front of us.

"_You've gotten faster, but when you're working against a Jagan you barely have any power. You still need training,"_ Hiei said telepathically. I flinched and realized he was right. I still had a long way to go to fight against Morte.

"_Thanks,"_ I whispered as the doors opened and they led us back to the room. As soon as we were inside, Botan began fussing over us. I sat myself down on the couch lounged back to look at everyone in the room.

"What does Morte want from you?" Koenma asked seriously bringing all attention on me. I yawned and thought about how I was going to answer this one.

"Originally she wanted me to kill Yusuke. No idea why though. When I refused to do that she told me she'd kill me. Although…I have a feeling that she doesn't intend to really kill me…otherwise…well calling on me specifically would make no sense," I answered closing my eyes and crossing my arms. Silence followed that and I opened my eyes to see them all thinking. I laughed and stopped them saying, "Don't think too hard about it. You'll hurt your head. Whatever she has planned doesn't matter because I plan on dying before her using me. BESIDES, this is supposed to be a relaxing day! Quit your worrying and let's enjoy it, shall we?"

"That's definitely the way we should be thinking! You got it right, kid!" Atsuko said with a smile and plopped herself down on the couch next to me.

"Right! We need to relax and fully recover for the fights to come!" Botan agreed as she too sat down. Soon all of them had forgotten about what I said as we were all chatting. I smirked at Kuwabara and it didn't take long for him to notice.

"What are you smiling at over there?" he asked in confusion making me smile even more.

"That pimp-punch you gave Risho. I mean you didn't even think about it. You just swung and boom! He was out!" I laughed and everyone else followed suit. My smile grew into one of the crazy ones that you often saw on Jin and continued, "Man, I bet he isn't going to be eating anytime soon!"

"She has a point, Kuwabara. As soon as you saw Yukina that fist just went crazy. Maybe you should fight when you're lovesick more often!" Yusuke laughed making our favorite frizzy-haired guy blush.

"S-shut up, Urameshi!" he stammered as we all laughed.

"You don't have any room to poke fun, Yusuke!" I laughed coming to the aid of Kuwabara. I pointed at the blue fluff ball on the top of his head and continued, "Or have you forgotten the cute little thing on your head that's fun to huggle?!"

Yusuke knew he lost and began sulking. I laughed harder than before and then looked over to Yukina. She seemed kind of tired and I was a little worried. Maybe using her power like that was a little too much on her at that time. The Ice Maiden seemed to notice my concern and smiled saying, "I'm alright. I'm getting my energy back as we speak."

"Alright. If you're sure," I said looking back outside. I tried to move my legs, but stopped as pain shot through them. I flinched and closed one eye on reflex. Damn, my legs were really sore. I sat back and said, "Ok, I will never run that fast again unless I stretch first."

"Are you sure you're going to be ok? What about the fight? You didn't break anything did you?" Keiko asked looking at me curiously.

"I'm fine. Really, I'm just whining. I only have a little bruise on the back. I'll be fine and ready for the fights to come," I said with a smile. I pushed myself to my feet despite the pain and made my way to the patio we had. I opened the door and looked back saying, "I need some fresh air. Be right back."

"Do you want anyone to come with?" Botan asked looking at me curiously.

"Nope, I'm good," I answered happily walking out and closing the door. I moved to the chair that was out there and sat down quietly. It was only around noon or so, but I felt like a lot had already happened. I leaned back in the chair and let the sun beam down on my face. Everything was peaceful once again and I felt another strange urge to sing. I knew I was basically asking to be overheard this time, but didn't care. I was in a genuinely good mood today.

"_In you and I, there's a new land. Angels in flight. My sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah. Where fears and melt away. Music inside. What's left of me, what's left of me now? I watch you fast asleep. All I fear means nothing. In you and I, there's a new land. Angels in flight. My sanctuary, my sanctuary. Where fears and lies melt away. Music inside. What's left of me, what's left of me? My heart's a battleground…You show me how to see, that nothing is whole and nothing is broken. In you and I there's a new land. Angels in flight. My sanctuary, my sanctuary. Where fears and lies melt away. Music inside. What's left of me, what's left of me now? My fears, my lies… Melt away."_

A bird flew over the patio at that moment and I watched a loose feather float down and land on the railing next to me. It happened to be a white feather and I laughed at the coincidence. I shook my head and said, "That was kind of ironic."

"Indeed," a voice said from the door. I turned and saw Hiei walking up closing the door behind him. I noticed that the others were watching carefully and figured that they heard me singing. Although, it didn't bother me too much. They were all nice enough that I wasn't too worried what they would say about it.

"Is there anything you want to talk about or something else?" I asked looking at him curiously as he moved over to the chair sitting beside mine. He took a seat and didn't immediately answer me. I waited patiently and he answered in his own time.

"Yukina wanted to make sure you were really alright and not faking it," Hiei said looking at me for a minute and then got out of the chair. He moved over to the balcony and jumped onto the railing to look out at the ground before us. His cloak flowed around him in the breeze and I found myself intently watching him stand there. It was like he was a statue meant to show those who saw him that they had strength inside themselves they could call on when they most needed it. It was then that I was reminded of the pictures I had seen of him on the computer and in the manga. All those pictures flashed through my mind and the person they were supposed to show didn't really fit them. None of them could compare to what I was seeing now. Hiei was so different from how I saw him before and now that he was really standing before me, I was amazed. He was so strong, so calm, and so full of pain that it made my own heart ache.

Those fangirl thoughts that always stayed with me back home were officially gone. Chasing after him like I did back home was completely childish. It was stupid and there was no way I could bring myself to feel like I used to. Hiei had been through so much and yet he could stand there; a complete person. He would protect his little sister and he would stay loyal to his friends. Hiei was amazing and strong. It made me think about how I wanted to be seen among my friends back home. This one person had been through more than I could imagine dealing with and still was able to be someone they could look to. I wanted to be like that.

Speaking of friends, my mind suddenly turned back to the ones who were on the other side of the balcony door. I cocked my head to the side curiously and then glanced back into the room where the entire group was. They all seemed very flustered and tried all talking at once from what it looked to me. I realized that they had been watching us and I shook my head. Then I noticed a strange look on all the guys' faces and saw a strange glint in Genkai's eyes.

I couldn't understand it, but the fight I just had with Morte seemed to concern them all and they seemed to be watching me a little more closely than before. I guess it was the fact that she managed to get so close without any of them noticing and how close the girls had come to getting hurt. Then again it could be that we destroyed the whole eating area and I almost took a bad hit to make sure nothing happened to Yukina. Over all, the fight ended in our favor, but if anything happened even a little bit differently we could've lost a few people that couldn't have been lost.

The thought made my heart stop. I slowly glanced down at the ground and gently hugged myself as the realization of what just happened hit me. Morte wasn't just fighting to get a point across. This time it really was to hurt either me or one of the girls. I should've known long before that she wouldn't be an imaginary threat much longer and this time I came close to falling to far into a false sense of security.

"I really am just a burden," I muttered shaking my head. Hiei glanced at me curiously and I covered my face with my hands. "I fell into a false sense of security. I thought because she hadn't managed to do anything that nothing would happen. Thanks to that she got close enough almost hurt us. Damn it!"

I jumped to my feet and ignored the annoying pain in my legs. I threw open the door and flew into the room in seconds. I didn't bother looking at my friends, but instead went into the room and closed the door behind me. I pulled off the shirt I had been wearing and quickly grabbed a tank-top. I threw it on and pulled my locket off my neck to set on the dresser next to the door. It wasn't going to be safe with what I planned on doing now and I would die before I let anything happen to that little charm.

"What happened out there, Hiei?" I heard Kurama ask from the room I just left. Hiei answered with his monosyllable and I heard him move in a way that indicated he shrugged.

"Did you say something before she stormed out…er…in?" Yusuke asked.

"She said that she was just a burden and then came in," Hiei answered in monotone. I felt bad that they didn't know what was going through my mind now, but it was better. I quickly strapped my chakram tighter to my hips and put on a pair of black fingerless gloves. I was going to have to make sure my knuckles didn't break the next time I used them. When I was completely sure I was ready I locked the door and quickly made my way over to the window.

"_What are you planning?" _Genkai asked me telepathically as I heard her make her way to the door. She quickly began to work on the lock and I threw open the window.

"_I'm getting answers on why the hell I was brought here,"_ I answered perching myself on the windowsill and then jumping out. I angled myself in the air so I would fall on my feet without hurting them and made a successful landing. By that time, my friends were in the room and I ran into the trees looking back only once to see Hiei watching me with surprised eyes. I didn't doubt that he knew what I meant to do. That meant I didn't have a lot of time.

"Damn him being a speed demon," I growled at myself pushing myself to run faster. I closed my eyes and opened my mind to call out, _"Morte! I know you can hear me! Meet me at the cliff where one of your damn minions tried to get rid of me!"_

"_Heeheehee. Indeed,"_ was the maniacal answer that sent chills down my spine. I knew that I was getting in over my head, but I wanted answers. It was about time I learned why I was brought here instead of waiting to be told later on. I wanted to know why I put them all in danger. I wanted to know why I was forced to possibly screw their lives up more than they already were. And I wanted to know why I was the one that had to affect so many lives.

I didn't realize how fast I was pushing myself until I came to a stop a few feet from the edge of the cliff. I took a breath and walked to the very edge to look down at the water and rocks below. The crashing of the waves caused ocean spray to hit me in the face and I felt my tense body relax. Despite the battle to come, I was able to relax. This was going to be the end of my ignorance.

"You should be happy I have a little more honor than the fighters I hire. Otherwise I would've sent you to your death just now," a voice behind me said causing me to take a breath.

"As much as you wanted to I'm sure. You brought me here for a reason. I can't help but think you won't dispose of me so easily. No, there's something else you want. Something that doesn't deal with me specifically, but more on what you can get from me, am I right?" I said turning around and meeting Morte's cold eyes. I took a breath and strode out to meet her a little further away from the edge.

"You're getting smarter. I imagine its probably spending so much time with that kitsune. You're fighting better than you used to as well. It seems leaving you with them is working better than I thought it would," Morte smiled at me like a mother would as her child took their first steps.

"Don't talk to me like a child, and don't pretend you anticipated how I've grown among them. I'm nothing like I was when this began and you can't control me," I hissed slowly reaching for my chakram. Morte tensed as well and pulled out twin kodachi swords. I smiled at our similarity of using two weapons and took a step to the side.

"Alright. So I didn't plan on you becoming as strong as you have. But, then again I wanted you to. You're correct. As a person, you're nothing important to me. I could've picked absolutely anyone. Yet, there is something your specific bloodline can give me. I chose you because you're the weakest link in your family. I picked you because you would be the easiest to control. Because of that I got as close to them as I have. You truly have helped me more than I ever hoped!" Morte laughed feeding the anger in my heart. How dare she use me like that!

"You have no right to play with other people's hearts!" I roared lunging at her and throwing my chakram at her head in absolute anger. She barely brought her own swords up and we began a furious flurry of movement. Sparks flew all around us from the scraping metal and electricity was flying off my chakram. I focused on throwing my fire at her as well and Morte was hard-pressed to keep me at bay.

"Do you honestly think you have a right to talk?! You were afraid of living on your own in the world! You were afraid of me haunting you and because of that you hid among them! I haven't been the only playing with hearts Rin!" Morte shouted locking our weapons above our heads and both of us worked to push the other back.

"Don't you dare lump me in the same place with you. I am not like you at all," I hissed pushing forward with one steady foot. I grit my teeth and pushed my arms behind my weapons, "I don't want them to love me. I don't want them to die for me. I don't even want them to feel any obligations to me. That's what I thought I wanted when this was all a foolish dream. Now, I know you can't just play with lives!"

"But they do care for you. They don't want you to be hurt and they'd be willing to fight for you. Who do you think you are? You can't say any of that! It's already happened and you're not a selfless person saying you didn't want it! You know it! You wanted all that and more!" Morte growled suddenly sweeping her foot behind my knee and toppling me to the ground. I rolled away with my weapons tightly clenched in my hands and stopped a ways from her.

"Ok, so you got me there. I love the fact they care! I just won't let you screw it up and harm any of them!" I shouted jumping to my feet and running headfirst into the battle. Morte smiled as she recognized what she had to do to piss me off.

"You're such a selfish little witch. It's another reason I chose you for all of this. Your reactions are predictable and you're not going to put yourself in danger for any of them. If it comes down to you and them, we all know who you'll pick. You'll safe yourself," Morte whispered as we clashed multiple times. I struggled to keep my mind clear, but she was pushing the right buttons to send me over the edge. Our weapons were only blurs to me as we clashed in different directions and I realized I was too stressed think straight. I had to clear my mind.

"Maybe, but we'll never know until the situation presents itself!" I shouted slamming both of my chakram down to unsettle her balance and jumped back to get some decent space between us. I focused all my attention on my breathing and slowly processed everything that was going around me. I looked into Morte's eyes and said, "I'm not hero, and I admit the thought of dying scares the hell out of me. I couldn't tell you what I'd do if it came down between me and them, but I won't give you the satisfaction of making me have to see that!"

I ran forward with my chakram at my sides and leapt into the air. I threw them down on her and instantly began using my power to control their movements. If getting a few good hits meant that I would have to face Morte's swords with my bare hands I would do it. I landed a few feet away from her and sent the weapons swarming around us while I moved forward as fast as I could. Morte swung her blades at me and ignored my chakram as they missed her by feet because I found it hard to focus them at the time. I dodged around the blades and refocused my mind so that the chakram went on a surer path than before. During that time, Morte laid a shallow cut on my cheek and I had to retreat a few steps to keep her from laying anymore hits on me.

Morte wasn't having the best of luck in the fight and one of my chakram skinned her left arm to leave a decent size gash on her. Droplets of blood fell to the ground as she jumped back like I had to swat away one of my chakram like a fly. I took that chance to advance forward and punch her in the corner of her jaw. She dropped one of her swords to grab me by my hair and throw me away from her. I knew what would happen if I let her catch me off guard and instantly buckled my knees beneath me. It was a sudden enough movement that caught her off guard and I was able to jump and slam my knee into her stomach.

"Damn it!" Morte hissed suddenly calling all of her shadows around her. My heart began racing as I realized what she was going to do and called my weapons back to me. The second they touched my hands, Morte released her attack. It was like a bomb had gone off and the shadows she threw at me sent me soaring back into multiple trees. They broke under me and I found myself lying in the splinters yet again. I was seriously beginning to think that fighting around anything wood was not a smart idea.

"Ouch…that's going to leave a mark," I grumbled sitting up and pulling myself to my feet. I situated my chakram in a defensive position and took a breath. It was then that I began realizing how much stronger Morte was compared to me. I looked over her toned arms and then looked to my normal ones. It was little wonder why she chose me to come here. If I wasn't easy to control, I would be easy to whip into shape.

"You're wearing on my last nerve!" Morte hissed as her eyes became darker and the area around us began to be enveloped in shadows. I stepped back from her and swallowed. I prepared for another charge, but wasn't able to get anywhere before she was in front of me. She smirked demonically and began punching me furiously. I wasn't able to see where a majority of her hits came from and they ranged from hitting me in the face to hitting me in the gut. The element of surprise was on her side, but I had my own trick up my sleeve to get away.

I used the little water I could control and mixed it with fire to create a huge steam cloud around me to blind Morte. She reeled back in surprise and I drove forward with a spin kick that sent her into the air. I jumped after her and began throwing fireball after fireball at her. She wasn't able to dodge them and was engulfed in flames as she slammed into the ground.

"Is it over?" I wondered stepping forward curiously.

"NOT BY A LONG SHOT, PUP!" Morte roared jumping up from where she was and ran at me with both weapons in her hands. I was able to bring my chakram out and lock each of them with her weapons so one arm was over my head and the other was locked just at my abdomen.

"Who…are you…calling a pup?" I hissed through the effort we had to exert in order to keep the other at bay.

"You. Compared to me your powers are that of a child. You're a pup and nothing more," Morte growled in annoyance.

"This pup is holding her own well enough!" I answered pushing forward with all I had. The deadlock officially wouldn't move any further and I hoped with everything that nothing else was going to surprise me. Then again, when did that ever happen?

"So you think!" Morte answered dropping her weapons and allowing mine to scrap along the sides of her arms. This surprised me and she placed her hands on my shoulders before I could do anything. Shadows pierced my skin and went clean through the muscles and the bones causing me to freeze. The pain was so intense that I couldn't even scream. She threw me into a tree and I fell flat on my ass. She got the better of me yet again. "Now that we've come to the understanding that you're not stronger than me, how about I take some retribution for it?"

Morte reached for her blades and held them so the sun was shining down on them. She moved them slightly so the reflection would snake across the ground and stop on my neck. I glared at her in fury, but I couldn't blame it all on her. I was weaker and it was my own damn fight for pursuing the fight. I bit down on the corner of my lip and tried to figure a way out of this before she did anymore damage. Then it was like a miracle descended on me.

Then again, it was just Yusuke firing a Rei Bullet at Morte's head. She barely managed to jump back in time and by that point another person entered the fray. Kurama had followed Yusuke and Morte saw she was outmatched. She hissed in annoyance, but turned on her heels and ran. I watched her go for a minute before saying, "You two are the only ones who are coming, correct?"

"How did you know?" Yusuke asked walking over to where I was leaning against the tree. I closed my eyes and moved my right arm so the bone popped back into place to heal. I did the same with the left and hissed in pain after it was done.

"Easy. I can sense the agitation from the Masked Fighter and Hiei. Not to mention Kuwabara's surprise and the other girls' worry. You two are the only ones I can sense that wanted to get where you were going," I answered pushing myself to my feet and grabbing my weapons. The wounds on my shoulders hurt like absolute hell, but they were as bad as the one I had in my stomach. It made the difference and I was able to move them with minor flinching with every movement. I hooked my chakram on my hips and bit the corner of my lip in thought.

"Hiei refused to come because…he said that you had something you wanted to work out alone," Kurama stated looking at me seriously. I cocked my head to the side and he continued, "He said that you needed to do something yourself and he wouldn't interfere because you needed your time."

"It's funny how intuitive he is," I laughed rubbing my finger with a smile under my nose for a minute. Then I turned and said, "Let's get back shall we?"

"We'll have Yukina look at your shoulders when we get back," Yusuke began to offer, but stopped when I held up my hand.

"She's still shaky from what she did in the dining room. I'll let them heal on their own. After all, it only took a night for my stomach wound to heal."

"That was with my herbs helping you," Kurama began to argue. I smirked and shook my head.

"You have a point, but at the same time these are smaller wounds. It won't take as much for me to heal. Anyway, it's not a big deal in the first place. Let's get going back to the apartments. This day has me wanting to relax for a while," I laughed and began making my way toward the apartments. Kurama followed without another word and Yusuke tried to, but wasn't able to manage more than a few minutes.

"Is there…something more to this Morte thing that I don't know about?" Yusuke asked jogging up beside me and fell into step. His eyes stared into mine and I had to look away because of the intensity of his stare.

"There is a lot more to it all…and there is a lot more I should probably tell you. I can't though. Not at the moment," I answered staring straight ahead. My mind shot to what would happen to Genkai and I shiver. If Yusuke figured out that I knew his teacher would die and then let it happen he'd kill me. It scared me even more that it was coming up faster than I realized. My body went cold and I felt destroyed that I couldn't stop the heartbreak they were going to feel. Yet, she would come back and I knew that. It didn't make it any easier though. So, I knew that I couldn't tell the others. Not until the end of the tournament anyway. That would give me the chance to get away from it. I glanced at Yusuke and continued, "So, I'll make you a deal. Instead of just leaving you to wonder about it all, I'll tell you everything on the condition you beat Toguro's head into the ground come the final match of this tournament."

Yusuke looked annoyed at first, but nodded and said, "Alright. It gives me another reason why I have to make Toguro wish he'd never been born."

"Sounds good to me, Yusuke," I answered as we came close to the apartments and I began sensing everyone's emotions. Keiko was concerned for our safety, Kuwabara was worried about Yukina, Yukina was fussing over where we went, Genkai was agitated, Atsuko figured everything was alright, Koenma wanted to yell at me, Shizuru was waiting to see if we made it back alright, Botan was running scared thoughts out of her mind, and Hiei stayed impassive about it all.

"They weren't happy when they saw you running out to fight. After a few well spoken arguments, they sent us out to find you," Kurama filled me as we walked into the building and moved to the elevator.

"I have the feeling they're going to yell at me, aren't they?" I asked as I pushed the button on the elevator and waited for the doors to open. They did a little too quickly for my liking.

"It's possible," Kurama answered as we stepped into the open elevator and Yusuke pressed the button to our floor. I wished the elevator broke down or something along the like because the second we stepped out I was mugged by Botan yelling at me and calling me reckless. That was something I was going to hear more of.

"Calm down already, Botan!" I asked running into the room for safety, "It's not as bad as you think. I knew what I was doing!"

"Yeah, but you couldn't tell what she was going to do!" Keiko snapped suddenly coming at me in annoyance. "Botan is right! You shouldn't run out and fight her, especially after what she tried to pull earlier today! You're thicker than, Yusuke!"

"That was uncalled for," I mutter halfheartedly in my defense. They had every right to be angry at me and I just had to take it because if I was in their shoes I'd be doing the exact same thing.

"You shouldn't scare us like that. We didn't know if you'd come back alright or not," Yukina said looking at me with those eyes that made guilt explode inside me. Now I knew why Hiei's emotionless mask always broke when she turned to him. Those eyes were just impossible to go against. Darn the creator of the series for making her so freaking innocent! How was anyone supposed to go against that!!

"Puu! PUU!" the little blue fluff-ball flew at me in the face and began beating me with his ears. I guess I had that coming too, oddly enough. Even though I wasn't supposed to think it, I thought Puu's miniature attack was kind of cute.

"I'm sorry!!!!!" I called out in defeat trying to tame their anger.

"You're not getting out of this that easy, kid," Shizuru said standing and Keiko, Yukina, Atsuko and Botan followed her lead. I felt a nervous sweat-drop form on the back of my head and I began stepping back,

"Come on, guys. No need to act hasty," I said waving my hands at them in worry.

"Oh yeah there is!" Botan said seizing me around the arms and pulling me back through the door. Keiko helped while Shizuru and Yukina followed in silence. Puu quickly rested in Shizuru's arms and came out with us. That wasn't good.

"_I'll get whatever is left of you after they finish with you,"_ Genkai said with the smug smirk reaching her eyes. I gave up resisting and allowed them to drag me away to the place where their rooms were. I managed to just catch a glance at a clock as we went past and saw that it was only two in the afternoon. I groaned and figure they were going to be yelling at me for a while.

Soon we were in their room and I sat on the bed to get myself comfortable. This was going to be a long day. Keiko was the one who rounded on me first and began growling, "Why did you just run out without any help? What happened to your shoulders and the little scratches all over your arms?"

"They're not that big of a deal. Just smaller and easier to heal versions of what happened to my stomach. I knew what I was doing and I was sure Morte wasn't going to do anything that would leave permanent damage. There's more that she wants from me and I was trying to figure out what it was," I answered crossing my arms and looking out the window. I had yet to figure out what exactly Morte expected to gain from me, but I now knew that she chose me because I was the weakest link of the family. That was a start at least. From there I could do some self investigating and try to figure out what I had to give that interested her so much.

"Ok, so pretend we forgive you for that much because you "knew" you'd come back. What do you think was happening here right after you were gone?!" Botan growled lightly hitting me on the top of my head. I rubbed the spot in annoyance and looked at her expectantly so she would elaborate.

"What she means is, that you caused a stir in everyone," Shizuru said lighting a cigarette. She brought it to her mouth and then after blowing away some smoke said, "You especially made a stir in Hiei, as much as he may deny it. That guy seems to watch after you closely."

"Ha! Only because I have information that he wants and I haven't given to him yet. When I give him the information, he probably won't care," I laughed lounging back on my elbows. I knew Hiei wanted to know more about what would happen to Yukina after everything was said and done. I also knew that once I let everyone in on the secret I told him and Genkai that things were going to be strange for a while. Then again, I could only hope that I'd have the chance.

"I doubt that's all there is to that one, but you don't seem like the kind of person we'll get much out of if you don't want to tell so we'll leave it be," Shizuru said as Puu made his way over to me and jumped in my lap. He glared at me and I apologetically patted him on the head. He didn't immediately forgive me, but I managed to get him to be friendly once again in a short amount of time.

"Thank you…it means a lot to me that you guys can understand that," I said closing my eyes and letting my emotions calm down. They seemed to see that I heard everything they said and calmed down themselves.

So, from that point on we talked about how I was reckless and how I needed to think things through a little more. I agreed that I acted without thinking and should've taken some more thought before running off. After getting that out of the way we were able to talk about more friendly things. We went on to talk about a lot more and the bonding that was interrupted earlier that day took place once again. This time we all had a lot more things to talk about. A new trust seemed to grow between us all and the shallow friend talk that happened at the table went deeper and I came to understand each of them a little more than I ever thought I would.

-------------

_**ME:**_** Well, there's your filler chapter. After this we'll be getting back on track with the story and such. I hope it was fun and you enjoyed it because I know I sure did. More Morte action as was requested and maybe a set up for things to come. Hehe.**

_**Hiei:**_** Are you already thinking of continuing this story in a sequel?**

_**ME:**_** Some people asked for it, and if I have ideas for it why shouldn't I? Then again it is a little too early to think about it in this story. So no worries about it until we get closer to the end.**

_**Hiei:**_** I have a feeling that's not the end of it. You've been stewing in that thought for a while before finally mentioning anything about it.**

_**ME:**_** Heehee. I'm not telling anymore than I already have. **

_**Hiei:**_** All anyone has to do is be patient. You'll explode to tell us later on.**

_**ME:**_** Shut up. Anyway, I still have the power of the reviewers on my side. If they want a sequel at the end of this they'll get one. That's a fact. So, did you find Jin?**

_**Hiei:**_** He says he's not coming near this place again until you come and apologize and make it up to him. He went on a rant in Irish and some of the things I heard weren't exactly pleasant.**

_**ME:**_** Well, I owe him that much at least. I'll go see him. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter and like I said we'll be getting back to the storyline next chapter. That's why this one is extra long. Lol. Anyway, review if you like! See ya! (Walks off to go apologize to Jin.)**

(One more thing. If there are really bad grammar errors in this and such I must apologize. There is NO excuse for them. I just haven't been able to catch as many problems as I used to. I need to be more careful! Thank you for bearing with me!)


	20. Time's Running Out

_**ME:**_** Hello my readers. I want to apologize for this chapter taking so long, but I've only just recently had time to do something after working for that accursed place we call school. I've been getting ready for things and I can't wait until it's all over and done with.**

_**Hiei:**_** Don't spend time apologizing for things in the past. Work to make them up.**

_**ME:**_** You're right Hiei. I should just start working on this chapter and get over it. I guess though I didn't have a real kick in the ass until a reviewer ordered me to update. Lol.**

_**Hiei:**_** So, has Jin forgiven you?**

_**ME:**_** Not entirely, but a little more kissing up and maybe a few things from the reviewers might change his mind. Lol.**

_**Hiei:**_** I doubt he'll forgive you easily.**

_**ME:**_** You're right. It'll probably take a while for the readers to forgive me too. Anyway, enough talking, it's about time to get this long awaited chapter underway. Oh, and I'm adding a little more about why Morte brought Rin into the world of Yu-Yu Hakusho, but flat out telling you would be no fun so I can guarantee you'll want to know a little bit more about it and even then you may be surprised!! So, I don't own anything to do with Yu-Yu Hakusho! Chapter start!**

_**Hiei:**_** About time.**

**-------------**

_**Chapter 20: Time's Running Out**_

So, from that point on we talked about how I was reckless and how I needed to think things through a little more. I agreed that I acted without thinking and should've taken some more thought before running off. After getting that out of the way we were able to talk about more friendly things. We went on to talk about a lot more and the bonding that was interrupted earlier that day took place once again. This time we all had a lot more things to talk about. A new trust seemed to grow between us all and the shallow friend talk that happened at the table went deeper and I came to understand each of them a little more than I ever thought I would.

Talking with them was pleasant and helped me feel a little more at ease with myself, but I knew the downtime wouldn't last. Soon, I would have to face Genkai and have her yell at me for being reckless…which she had a right to do. Then the others would get what was left…if there was anything left. I couldn't say I didn't deserve any of it though. I knew full well I had it coming and knew what was going to happen when I took off so recklessly to begin with. I glanced down at Puu who was nestled in my arms and gave him a small pat on the head. I watched him sleeping for a moment and thought about the whole situation. This was one of the few peaceful times they were going to have and I was messing it up for them by making them worry unnecessarily. I had to get this put to bed and let them finally relax. I gently handed the sleeping creature to Keiko and smiled as he cuddled against her like a baby would. I stood and said, "Thanks for being so easy to talk to you guys. It makes this whole thing a little easier for me to deal with."

"It's not a matter of us being easy to talk to. It's a matter of you actually trusting us enough to talk," Shizuru replied calmly as the others smiled and nodded in agreement.

"We're all friends. You can talk to us without worrying about what we think. We're always here when you need us," Yukina said being her usual sweet self. It made me wish I was like her and then laugh because that just wouldn't be me in anyway shape or form. Haha!

"I know. I promise to trust you all a little more from now on," I replied glancing at the time. It was almost five in the evening. We still had the rest of today and then tomorrow Genkai would give Yusuke the ordeal to become stronger. Then one last day before the semi-finals. The sun was still shining, but I knew that soon it would begin to rain and all of our time together was drawing to a possible close. I walked over to the door and said, "Well, I have to go face the Masked Fighter right now. Hopefully, I'll be able to come back."

"Good luck," Botan smiled waving at me as I left the room. I made my way into the living room and saw the fighting master I feared standing at the front door with her hands behind her back. She glared at me from beneath her mask for a moment before turning toward the door.

"Follow me to the lake nearby," she said coldly and left an icy air behind her long after she was gone. I glanced at the guys in helplessness and they stared back in surprise. It was then that I noticed one of them was missing. Hiei wasn't standing among them and I began to wonder what he was doing. Then a chill hit my spine and I quickly shook it off. I didn't have time to worry about him while Genkai was waiting for me. I took a deep breath and smiled at the guys apologetically.

"Sorry about worrying you guys with my recklessness. I need to think these things through a little more," I laughed rubbing the back of my neck in embarrassment.

"It's alright. You're just beginning to act a little more like Yusuke," Kurama answered with a smile.

"Is that really such a bad thing?!" Yusuke growled in annoyance.

"You have no idea, Yusuke. Our group can only stand with one reckless fool and it works even better that he's the captain," I replied shaking my head. We shared a laugh together and then I left the apartment to find Genkai. I stepped out into the air and let my mind wander as I walked to the meeting place. It was strange to me how Morte was so much more powerful than I. She seemed to have more power than I could comprehend. After all she allied herself with the Toguro brothers and could use all the dirty tricks they'd give her. Yet, the brothers still didn't win. Which meant that despite all of that power she had, that I had some kind of advantage I could use too. I just had to find it.

"Hurry up! I'm not the only person who wants a piece of you by nightfall," Genkai snapped at me in annoyance and I quickly picked up the pace. I soon came to the clearing beside the lake and saw Genkai standing by the bank waiting for me. I moved forward and stopped when I was standing before her.

"I guess we should "talk" now. AKA, you beat the shit out of me and I beg for forgiveness," I said bowing my head respectively to her. A line from a movie I saw before coming here came to my mind and I struggled to keep my face straight. I was basically going to go through what was called "eat crow, kiss ass."

"I won't attack you. Morte had left plenty of bruises and aches on you. I'll spare you in that regard for the time being, but I will ask you something. I know well that you're not from here, but does that mean you have a right to make such rash decisions?! Do you have a right to possibly damage beyond repair the emotional and mental stability of our group?!" Genkai growled at me and fixed me with a chilling glare.

"…no, I don't," I answered looking at the ground in shame.

"I didn't think so. You may know what's going to happen to us, but YOUR future is not as definite as ours and you going out to fight does not only affect you! Your death could possibly damage our future! From that point, nothing else would be definite for us. You should use your head! It's not there just to look pretty!" Genkai hissed in anger. I flinched and recoiled away from her. She was completely right of course, but actually hearing it was still pretty hard. I swallowed my injured pride and listened as she continued, "You've become a major part of this group. You've connected with them…with us, and we've connected with you. You may not have been a part of our original lives, but you are now and we've taken you in and given you a place. You should never think that what happens to you doesn't affect us. Think about things in the long run. You don't want to see firsthand how we'd be affected by that. If you could think more than five minutes ahead you might actually do something that isn't stupid and reckless!"

I bit my lip and stared at the ground. It was hard for me to imagine that any of them were truly connected to me. I mean there was no mistaking that I was connected to them. I would give my all to fight beside them and try to keep them from harm. That's how attached I had become, but I could only hope they felt the same. I was still in the mindset that I would wake up at any moment and it would all be a dream. I wasn't supposed to be a part of their lives after all. I didn't think as far ahead as I should've because of that.

"I'm sorry sensei. I keep thinking that this isn't real and it's just a dream. I'm sorry. I feel so stupid," I said biting my lip even harder.

"You should!" Genkai shouted suddenly appearing in front of me. I "eeped" in fear and she punched me square in the jaw with such power that I was sent crashing into a tree nearly twenty feet away. I was completely dazed by the shock to my body and took a moment to come back to reality. I shook my head slightly to shake the last of the daze and rubbed my jaw gingerly. I could already feel the bruise beginning to form, but other than that the only issue I had was that my body was beginning to relive the aches that Morte had given me. I brought my eyes up to meet her glare and she continued, "Do you think you're going to wake up now, punk?! You're here and you're not leaving anytime soon! Stop feeling sorry for yourself and think!"

"I'm…sorry, sensei," I said in surprise, "I wasn't thinking."

"That much is obvious! Be sure you start thinking from now on, you sniveling punk!" Genkai snapped with her death-glare boring holes into my skin. I nodded and stared into her face to see it slowly change. After getting out the last of her agitation with me, she calmly walked over and sat down on the ground beside me. She glanced around and whispered, "Is there anyone around that I can't sense?"

I took a moment to feel out the area with my power and suddenly sensed Hiei's aura moving far away from us. He then went out of range for me to sense and I couldn't sense any other aura around us. I smiled and replied, "Well, now there's no one around. Hiei will probably come back when you say something or I go looking for him."

"He may be one of the most intelligent males of the group, second to Kurama," Genkai laughed pulling off her mask. The old woman placed it on her lap and freely took in the air around us. She smiled and said, "These fights seem to be getting out of hand."

"Just a little bit!" I laughed rubbing my head. I looked at her with a smile and continued, "I wonder who my next match up will be against. I know all the fights for you guys to come and I can't wait to see what you're all going to do."

"Hm…Rin…how long do I still have with this group?" Genkai asked looking at me curiously. I felt as if ice water was dumped on my back and I looked away from her. I closed my eyes and dug my nails into my legs. Why did I have to know about Toguro killing her?! Why did I have to know what was coming?! Why did I have to know how much it would tear the group apart on the inside?! More than anything I wished I could forget about the whole thing or by some unforeseen miracle that it wouldn't happen. My body shook for a moment and Genkai lightly placed her hand on my shoulder. A little of her strength flowed into me…just enough to speak.

"You…you die directly after the semi-finals. You don't even get close to getting them to the finals," I answered opening my eyes and looked at the ground.

"I see…so I'd best whip Yusuke into shape by tomorrow. Then he'll have one more day before the fights. Thank you, Rin," Genkai said standing up with her mask in her hand. She quickly pulled in on and looked out at the water.

"You've taught me a lot, Genkai. I can't thank you enough," I replied smiling.

"This isn't over and by the time it is, I expect to see you sending Morte straight to hell. You have a lot you still have to learn, but I have faith in all of you twits. You and the rest of them better not let this old woman down. I'll consider that your thanks," Genkai said and walked away from me.

"You got it!" I called after her before she left earshot. She raised one hand in acknowledgement and left me alone. I finally took notice of all the aches and pains I had and groaned. I pushed myself up to stand, but was suddenly stopped by a black blur appearing in front of me and pushing me down. I was completely stunned and a little unnerved until the spoke.

"Sit!" Hiei ordered causing me to flinch at his furious tone. I instantly obeyed and bit the corner of my lip in worry. Of course, I couldn't have fought him even if I tried. I was in no shape to do so.

"Is it your turn to rip me to shreds? Not that I don't deserve it, but…never mind," I began to ask until I saw the irritation in his eyes.

"Frankly, I don't care what you do. Your choice is your own, but I will not tolerate Yukina worrying herself over a baka onna like you! She was completely worried you wouldn't return," Hiei growled glaring at me with his Jagan-eye open beneath the cloth. Instantly, I felt as if I was being smothered and I closed my eyes to fall back away from him. Hiei steadied me with one hand and seconds later completely suppressed his powers. I took a moment to look up and saw that Hiei masked his emotions. It was a good thing because if he hadn't it would've been very difficult for me to talk.

"I…I apologize that I brought distress to your sister. It's entirely my fault, but now I have a new understanding of this situation. It's about time I stepped up and stopped being such a damn burden," I smiled and watched his expression change once again.

At first he still looked a little angry at the fact I had worried Yukina so much, but it slowly changed to confusion. He looked over me for a moment before sitting down in front of me and reached out to grab my arm. Pain shot through it and I flinched as he turned it so he could see. It still looked somewhat grey and a little burned, but it was clear to see that it was healing nicely. He looked at the wound for a moment before looking at me saying, "Did you hurt your arm healing my own?"

"Well…I…it wasn't entirely that…it's just that I haven't exactly been able to learn how to maneuver the lightning through the nerves and it brings back recent wounds and stuff so it just looks bad. It's not that big of a deal. I swear," I said laughing nervously.

"What do you plan on doing now? Not only do you have to work with that arm, you don't have any sealed energy left. Seems as though you have a bit of a problem to deal with," Hiei said looking at me seriously.

"Well, yeah that's true, but I actually do have a plan. I'm going to fully recover tonight and tomorrow I'm going to train like hell while everyone else is doing something. I have an idea of something I can do that will help me in the long run. I mean after all this is beginning to draw to a close. Soon, I'm going to be in the ring with Morte and none of you are going to be able to help me then. She planned it like that on purpose and I'm going to have to fight her alone. So, I'm going to work on a new attack that she hasn't seen yet. Then for the last day I'm going to be perfecting what I can in my fighting style," I answered with a smirk. The idea had only just recently come to me and I didn't have any real time to think about it. Now, I did and I was pretty sure I could do it if I had a little time to myself to work on it.

"Hn," Hiei answered standing up suddenly as he released my arm. He looked out at the water and seemed to not know what to say. I slowly stood still feeling achy from all my earlier fights, but didn't complain as I stood beside him. I looked at him curiously and waited for him to speak first. Silence fell between us and I halfway thought that the conversation was going to end with that. I glanced away and walked out to the water to watch the glowing sun reflect of the surface. A strange sparkle seemed to flow off the waters and I became entranced with the scene before me. There was beauty in some of the strangest moments and this was one of them that came out of nowhere. The wind suddenly picked up and a spray from the water hit me and I closed my eyes enjoying it. It was then that Hiei broke the silence by saying, "Is your home peaceful or not?"

"Huh?" I asked opening my eyes in surprise. I halfway turned around and looked at him asking, "What brought that on?"

"You're fighting style is rough and not adequate to fight in this tournament alone. Yet, you have potential and the ability to fight well alone. Is this because you are used to fighting at home or is it all learned here?" Hiei elaborated simply as he looked at me.

"Oh…" I glanced back at the water and thought about my answer. I held my hands behind my back for a moment and rocked on the heels of my feet. I looked back at him and said, "My world was never peaceful. There were always wars being fought and people trying to get freedom and those trying to steal it. There's hate because of race, gender, religion, and other things, but there are peaceful times. Personally, I've never found myself in the middle of true fights. There have been a few scuffles between people I don't agree with and I've wrestled with friends and family, but never truly fought. So, when you think about it this is the first time I've really had to fight besides when I was learning Judo."

"So, you've never had to fight for your life?" Hiei asked with his eyes narrowing on me. I instantly froze and realized that he was judging me. He had such a hard life from the moment he was born and here I was, spoiled and well taken care of, changing his world and story. I bit my lip and stared back at the water intently.

"No. I haven't had to fight for my existence. I haven't had to fight through everything since I was born like you have. I've had the comfortable life. I'm an only child. A spoiled little brat who almost got everything she ever asked for. I've had people taking care of me since I could remember. Not once did I ever have to work for something and not once have I had to fight just to be happy. So, no Hiei, I'm nothing compared to you and everyone in our group. I am the farthest thing you could ever want for an ally," I answered watching the wind manipulate the water. The reflection of the sun off the surface glittered and gave me a melancholy feel. I got to my knees and just stared at the water. I took a breath and said, "Nothing that's ever happened to me could possibly compare to your lives. Not Yusuke's, not Kuwabara's, not Kurama's, and definitely not yours."

Silence fell between us and then I heard Hiei begin walking. He got closer and then stopped when he was right behind me. I turned to look at him and saw him staring at me. He then held his hand out and said, "Its one matter to actually go through those things. It's an entirely different matter to understand that you may not fully comprehend what others have been through."

"Heheh. Thanks, Hiei," I said taking his hand and standing up. I was still feeling achy, but didn't really think about it as we made our way back to the apartments. We were almost there when something suddenly came to my mind. I turned and said, "Wait, are you sure you want to walk into the room with me alone? You know how Yusuke and Kuwabara get."

Hiei shrugged dismissively and continued walking beside me. It wasn't until we entered the building that I realized why he wasn't so worried. Genkai waited for us a little ways before the room and walked in with us. It seems to me that those two are getting a bit too chummy for me. Especially with what was drawing near. The mere thought made my insides freeze once again. I didn't think about it too much as I walked in and came face-to-face with the entire group. They were sitting around talking and instantly stopped when we entered the room. I wrinkled my nose and said, "Ok, you guys CAN'T do that. It makes me feel awkward and it's like school ALL OVER AGAIN!"

This managed to get a laugh out of them all and the feeling around the room warmed up. I smiled and then suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion hit me. I didn't know what came over me, but I felt my knees buckle and was soon face first on the ground. I blacked out.

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_Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. _

_You're no better than the rest of us. You want to kill Urameshi. You want him dead. You want them all dead. You want to stand over their corpses and claim the true power you hold within you. The power that Koenma's father bestowed to your family. You want to rule them all._

_Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill._

It was hard to breathe. Something kept me from moving. My head was pounding. My heart was racing. Pain was shooting from my somewhere in my above my abdomen. Then a power pulsed. My body suddenly felt like it was on fire. Strange sounds were racing through my hearing. Voices speaking in a strange language I didn't understand. They got faster and faster. The pulsing matched their paces and the flames engulfed my body even more.

_Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill._

_You're getting to be strong enough. Those fools are only giving you what you need. That foolish demoness Morte is only making you stronger. You'll rise to the top. You only have to give your entire being to it. You'll be the queen if only you give everything to the power. No one will stand against you. You just have to give up everything you are and embrace the new path. Throw away your humanity. Throw away the things that hold you back. Destroy them all._

_Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill._

Laughter rose to my ears and suddenly the flames died. In their stead my body felt as if it had been frozen. Ice raced through my veins and I recognized the laugh. It was my own…but it didn't sound like any laugh I have ever had before. It was cruel…almost maniacal…almost insane. It tore apart my insides and I felt something strange. I felt like I was losing everything I was…everything that made me who I was.

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"NO!" I screamed suddenly shooting up into a sitting position throwing the blankets from me. Sweat was pouring down the back of my neck and I couldn't breathe right. I looked around the room and was only alone for a few more seconds before my door crashed open revealing Yusuke and Kuwabara.

"What's wrong?!" they asked in unison as they looked at me in concern. I shook my terrified stupor from me and glanced around the room confirming that it was all just a dream, just something created from the depths of my mind, and something that wasn't really happening to me. I looked back at the guys and ran my hand through my crazy hair.

"N-nothing. I just had an unpleasant dream. I'm alright. I swear," I said smiling reassuringly at them. They gave me a doubtful look, but couldn't really fight with me about it.

"If you say so," Yusuke muttered looking at Kuwabara.

"We're going to go check the competition. You wanna come?" Kuwabara asked looking at me curiously.

"Yeah! Get out and I'll follow," I laughed pointing at them to leave. They did and as soon as the door was closed I jumped to my feet and got dressed. I ran a brush through my hair and tied it back in a small ponytail and looked at myself in a mirror. I pushed the dream to the back of my mind and made myself presentable before following them out. They waited for me outside and I saw that Yusuke had Puu resting on his head. I struggled to keep my face straight, but couldn't keep the smirk from curling my lips. Yusuke saw it and his expression soured. I began laughing uncontrollably making everyone else laugh as well.

"SHUT UP!" Yusuke roared in anger as we laughed harder. Soon we managed to master ourselves enough to leave. We then high-tailed it to the ring and arrived just in time to see Shishiwakamaru's group utterly destroy their opponents. Kurama and Hiei met us at the top stairs of the arena and after looking over Kurama's bandaged face in concern, I refused to meet anyone's eyes. Though I struggled to keep the dream out of my mind the chanting of "kill" kept coming back. It repeated over and over and over again and I bit down hard on my lip causing it to bleed in an attempt to distract myself. It was then that Kuwabara decided to start talking. Thank god! I had half a mind to kiss him and then wash my mouth out with soap after making a dramatic scene. I NEEDED TO BE DISTRACTED!!

"Toxic Tulips! Fractured Fairytales nailed that round in the five minutes it took us to get here?" Kuwabara asked paling noticeably.

Kurama held up two fingers and looked at us saying, "Two minutes actually."

"The other teams raised their game," Hiei said looking at me as I avoided everyone's eyes. He tried to read my mind, but I blocked him with a loud bark from my wolf side. Even Genkai noticed my behavior as well, but did not say anything. We then stood side-by-side as a full team before all the demons. It would've been halfway badass if Yusuke didn't have Puu on the top of his head of course.

"What's that? A gift from your girlfriend?!" one smartass demon decided to shout.

"No! That I could get rid of!!" Yusuke shouted back with an annoyed look on his face. The rest of our group struggled not to laugh and I gazed around the arena while my group continued to converse beside me. Yusuke looked to Kurama and asked, "How're you doing, Kurama?"

"Don't worry. I'll be ready," Kurama answered reassuringly.

Oh, no doubt about that if the semifinals we next week instead of tomorrow!" Hiei said with a sneer. Kurama looked at Hiei with an innocent smirk and said something telepathically that Hiei instantly glared at. I would've laughed if wasn't constantly thinking of the dream.

"Hey, Kurama, you should go see Yukina! Your herbs an' her healing powers should fix you right up!" Kuwabara said with a smile. Kurama's eyes perked up and Hiei instantly stared away from all of us as if we weren't there. Kuwabara then began growling, "Course, she said she's really here to find her brother! When this tournament's done, I'm gonna help her!"

"Sounds like a big job! Maybe we could pitch in…eh, Hiei?" Kurama said looking at Hiei with a smile. A death glare from the fire-user ensued and I then turned my attention to where I sensed Morte. A roar went up from the ground and instantly it was a stare off between Team Urameshi and Team Toguro. I was more focused on Morte than the standoff between Yusuke and Toguro.

She was once again wearing and outfit that showed off all her feminine curves, but she looked different. There were dark circles under her eyes and her ears seemed a little twitchy as though she was on edge. Like me, she must've had one horrible night. I glared at her and hissed, _"You're slipping. You're looking pretty messed up over there."_

"_Like you're one to talk, wench! You're paler than you've ever been and the fear is written all over your face!" _Morte snapped in anger. She snarled at me like a cat would and I bared my teeth at her like a wolf would. Our eyes never left each other through the exchange, but our minds for once weren't focused on tearing each other to shreds. Unlike our comrades, the last things on our minds were about the fights to come. I couldn't tell you where she was, but I was so focused on the dream that I knew I was going to have to get away from the group or I wouldn't escape the questions. So, I waited until the stare off was done and the group was talking about the opponents.

"I've gotta go guys. See you later," I said turning on my heels to leave…that is until I crashed into Shishiwakamaru. He brought his arm up so fast I almost didn't catch sight of it and caught me square in the middle of my chest. I coughed as he knocked the wind out of me and I crashed flat on my back almost crashing into Hiei and Kurama. My head cracked against the stone ground and I went into a daze. My chest hurt from his attack and I could feel another bruise beginning to form. Shishiwakamaru was just throwing his power around now and he picked the one person in the group who wasn't ready for any kind of attack. Had I been paying even half attention I would've just fallen on my ass. It took a moment for me to breathe right again.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Kuwabara roared at them as Kurama and Hiei gently brought me to my feet making sure that there wasn't anything more to that attack than just catching me off guard. Shishiwakamaru stared at me coldly and I held the back of my head trying to get rid of the headache I now had. I looked back at him emotionlessly and denied him the pleasure of seeing me angry or disturbed by the confrontation. I made it look as if nothing happened.

"We're here to build our rep…You're just a _"bump"_ along the way," Shishiwakamaru answered with a smug smirk on his face while the rest of his group got a laugh out of that as they were walking past us. It was then that I looked and saw the special honorary fighter I was going to go against. He was tall and just as pale as I was if not more. He had dark red eyes and pale blonde almost white hair that was cut in a choppy fashion around his face. He was in a plain white Japanese fighter's outfit and seemed to look like a ghost to me. He looked like he was full of sorrow and pain as he looked over me with an emotionless face. Shishiwakamaru looked at me with a vicious smile and growled, "And Ghost will be looking forward to putting you six feet under, Rin Ishida!"

"From what I see I doubt you clowns have got anything to build a rep on!" Yusuke said pointing at them confidently. Then he looked to Ghost and continued to Shishiwakamaru, "And next time why don't you let him speak for himself. It makes you sound like a stupid dog introducing his master."

Shishiwakamaru turned from walking away with his horns out and demonic face bared as he snapped, "Don't let appearances fool you! See ya soon! Hee. Hee."

"I look forward to our match," a chilling but soothing voice suddenly came from Ghost. He stared into my eyes intently and his voice resonated through my ears. It was somewhat deep and had a baritone sound to it, but at the same time was soft with a strange melody to it. I stared up at him in awe and he continued, "It will truly be worth seeing your strength. May the best demon win."

He slowly turned away and followed the group. He was true to his name and seemed to disappear quickly as if he were a ghost. I continued to hold my head and muttered, "I think…that's the nicest demon I'll EVER fight in my entire life…"

"Are you alright? You hit your head pretty hard against the ground," Kurama asked looking at me in concern. Hiei stepped back to give me some air and the others looked at me carefully.

"I'm fine guys. I've had worse injuries that were self-inflicted. That's nothing like falling down a full staircase of steal tipped stairs. I'm alright. I'm just going to go walk this off," I answered standing away from Kurama. I didn't bother looking at the others and quickly left the way we came. As soon as I was sure I was out of their sight I took off at a dead run and did what I could to put the arena as far behind me as I could. The strange chanting from my dream came back to my mind once again.

_Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill._

I ran faster in an attempt to escape the chanting and suddenly came to the base of the cliffs I originally was thrown from. I focused my attention on my balance as I jumped out on the rocks to the farthest one into the water I could stand on. I pushed the dream to the back of my head once again and focused on the training I wanted to do. It took some effort, but I finally was able to do it and I took a deep breath. It was one hell of a crazy idea, but it was something I had a feeling I could do.

I felt my fire and lightning power separate itself when I was using them together and I wanted to try that same concept except with all of my power. If I could separate it and make a doppelganger it would work perfectly in confusing my opponents as to which was the real one and which was the fake. First…I had to be able to separate the power into sections that it could be possible in the first place. With that in mind I focused on calling all my power to the core of my body. It was a sort of meditation, in my opinion. Except that it was just a bit painful with my right arm still being injured.

I couldn't tell how long I sat there calling all my energy to the specific part of my body, but I knew by the time I was satisfied that I was soaked from the ocean spray and the sun was still shining above me. I stood and made my way back to the shore where I could work on separating the power I called forth. It was difficult because I didn't know the finer details of what I was trying to do, but I had always been told that I always seemed to have two completely different personalities within me. There would be times when I seemed like the person all my friends and family could come to and then there were times when they all hated talking to me because I was the biggest bitch to walk the planet. With that in mind, there had to be a way to incorporate that concept into my powers.

It was after thinking about that, that I felt a sudden break through. I was able to completely separate my power into two halves. I smirked and worked to force the power outside of my body to make a doppelganger. I got close to the point where each half was in a different hand and I then I saw something insanely strange. My hands began to have a strange mark on them. The right one had the Yin-or black half-was on the palm of my right hand and the Yang-or the white half-was on the palm of my left hand. I stared at them in awe for a moment before they disappeared and the halves of my power snapped back together and flowed through my entire body. I was thrown back at the surge of power and cracked my head once again on the ground. I sighed heavily in annoyance and stared up at the darkening sky in exhaustion.

"Damn…I was close…but I don't even have the energy for another try…not right now anyway," I muttered to myself as thunder roared through the air. Rain began pouring down on me and just lied there on the shore getting soaked from the ocean spray and rain. I then thought about what the others were doing. Genkai had surely given her power to Yusuke for his final text by now and the rest of my friends were in the apartments having a party before having to prepare all day tomorrow. I wondered if I should get up to join them, but found it was hard to move after manipulating my power so much through my body. There were collective chunks of power spread through my entire being and I sealed a little bit of it away in case something would happen in my match with Ghost and I would have to save myself.

_Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill._

My head exploded in pain and I rolled onto my side holding my head in my hands. I could hear the blood pounding in my ears and felt my head pulsing in with pain. I gasped and bit my lip so I wouldn't scream. The strange chanting from my dream once again began racing through my mind and I struggled to understand what it was about. I managed to catch a word or two and tried to listen once again to see if I was right. After hearing it again I instantly knew that there was something I was supposed to know about it.

"The…Yin-Yang Eye?" I gasped suddenly as the world spun before me. Instantly the pain stopped and everything returned back to normal as if nothing happened. I lied there on the shore in a daze and slowly pushed myself to sit on my hands and knees as the rain poured down. The dream came back to my mind and I instantly realized something. I looked out at the ocean and whispered, "It's…the power…but…how do I know about it…how would I get it…"

Broken thoughts raced through my mind and I pushed myself to stand. There was a new factor to work into this whole story now and I finally realized why Morte brought ME specifically into this world. I don't know how and I don't know why, but I was the only one she could use to get to this Yin-Yang Eye. What is was, I didn't know. What it could do, I didn't know. Why was I the only one to get it, I didn't know. The only thing I knew was that I couldn't let Morte get it…but I couldn't tell anyone else about it. I didn't know enough myself to tell them and it was something I didn't have to tell them. Especially not with everything that was coming up for them to face. Once again I was alone…but this time, I didn't feel too bad about it.

"At least Morte seems to be losing some sleep over this. Which means something went wrong that she didn't expect. So, I should be pretty good for a while anyway," I smirked suddenly feeling completely rejuvenated. All of my power was back and I was ready for another try at the plan I had. I punched my fist in the air and shouted, "I'm not backing down from this fight!! No way in hell! So, you better watch it, Morte! I'm gonna make you burn in HELL!!"

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_**ME:**_** Alright…there's that chapter for you. I hope you enjoyed it and will look forward to future chapters. And for those who want to know, NO, I WILL NOT make Rin suddenly a beast with strong powers. I enjoy watching her get her ass kicked on a regular basis. So, no worries there.**

_**Hiei**_**: Worried about someone saying Mary-sue?**

_**ME:**_** Bite your tongue!**

_**Hiei:**_** Touchy. Touchy. So, this Ghost character…what are your plans for him?**

_**ME:**_** Just trying something new I guess. We'll see what happens. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and you review! Although I'm expecting a few angry notes for taking so long to update. Lol. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter and I HOPE to be updating soon. Peace out for now!**


	21. One Final Lesson

_**ME:**_** Well, that last chapter got a very interesting reaction. I'm happy that so many people are still reading it. Heehee! I'm sorry it took me so long to update and I'm trying to get this down as fast as I can to make up for the time in between updates, but at least you're all still enjoying my crazy ranting! The fights to come should be very fun to write out and fun to read.**

_**Hiei:**_** It seems to me you have a few reviewers who are ready to attack you should you forget to update anymore. It's very interesting.**

_**ME:**_** You only find it interesting because it involves me getting my ass kicked even more than I already am by you and the rest of the group. That's one thing I know you enjoy, watching me get beat up.**

_**Hiei:**_** Shouldn't you be getting along with this new chapter?**

_**ME:**_** Shouldn't you be saying the disclaimer?**

_**Hiei:**_** (Rolls his eyes and looks to readers) She doesn't own Yu-Yu Hakusho in any way and only has the entire series on DVD and all the manga volumes out so far. (Looks around and mutters something about being obsessed)**

_**ME:**_** Be that as it may, if I wasn't this obsessed I wouldn't have started to write this fic and wouldn't have come up with the ideas of I have. Then the readers wouldn't have this story to read and think about when they need it.**

_**Hiei:**_** You're surprised that the readers actually think about this story after they finish reading. **

_**ME:**_** Well yeah. I mean I think about stories that I read after I get off the computer, but I haven't thought about others too much. Lol. So, that makes me happy!! Heehee!! Oh, and I'm happy that the creepiness of the dream got through like I wanted it to. I wasn't sure if that was as creepy as it needed to be since my sense of those things is a little screwed up and I'm happy to see I didn't miss the mark at all. So yay! That worked a lot better than I thought it did!!! So, let's start this chapter on a good note! Chapter Start!**

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_OMG!!! I SAW THE MUSICAL_ "Wicked"_ AND IT WAS AMAZING!!! OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!! …ok. Useless rant over and done with. Onto the story. _

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_**Chapter 21: One Final Lesson**_

"At least Morte seems to be losing some sleep over this. Which means something went wrong that she didn't expect. So, I should be pretty good for a while anyway," I smirked suddenly feeling completely rejuvenated. All of my power was back and I was ready for another try at the plan I had. I punched my fist in the air and shouted, "I'm not backing down from this fight!! No way in hell! So, you better watch it, Morte! I'm gonna make you burn in HELL!!"

It was silly to be shouting this into the sky, but surprisingly it made me feel better and actually made it easier for me to think clearly. It was then that something came to my mind officially causing me to freeze on the spot in surprise. Genkai promised on the boat that she would help me learn how to control the lightning I used in fighting. Maybe it was my inability to control that half of my power that caused it to be almost impossible for me to actually complete the plan I wanted to use. I halfway thought about just ignoring the memory and go back to training, but my thoughts were interrupted by Genkai's voice, _"Come on, you slacker! Yusuke is enduring his final test. It's time for me to help you with one last thing before the finals."_

"_Are you sure Genkai? I mean, aren't you focused on Yusuke right now?" _I asked in awe as I slowly pushed myself to stand on shaky legs. The rain was still pouring down and I watched lightning streak across the sky while thunder raged around me. It was my kind of weather, but I knew that it meant the trials to come were even closer.

"_Yusuke's on his own right now and I can teach you what you need to know without pulling too much attention away from him. Just get over here,"_ Genkai answered in a tired voice. I knew better than to fight with her and pushed myself to make my way as quickly as I could to the cave I knew Yusuke would be in. I soon found Genkai standing a little ways away and I heard Yusuke yelling in pain. I flinched as the sound echoed through my sensitive hearing and looked at Genkai to distract myself. It was then that the chilly rain set in and my entire body felt like it had been frozen over.

Genkai looked even older and more worn than before. The wrinkles in her face were more pronounced and the lines under her eyes and on the sides of her mouth slightly drooped. Her already dull hair seemed to have lost even more of his shine and her skin seemed to have lost a majority of its coloring. Her body seemed even more fragile than it did before and it was hard to believe that this was the same fighting master I trained with not too long ago. She was a completely different person, an older person…a more fragile person. It startled me and unnerved me that someone so powerful, someone I looked up to so much, had fallen prey to something that we all had to deal with…time.

"We don't have a lot of time to go over the things you need to know. It will be the bare basics and you'll have to figure out the rest on your own. I apologize for that, but if you're anything like the other fools of our group you'll do fine. Although, with you stressing your powers as you are I think you're beginning to gain some more control as we speak," Genkai said stepping forward looking over me seriously.

"I have to try and do a few things on my own. You all can't fight my battles for me from here on out. I've gotta step up to the plate and kick some ass," I replied quietly feeling tears burn the rims of my eyes. She sounded older too. It was like I was watching her die at that moment and I resolved that no matter what happened I would be there when Toguro struck her down. I wouldn't do anything and I would later tell Yusuke and the others about everything, but I had to get the strength from her first. It would kill me to watch her leave, but it was the pain that always kept me strong. Even when I was home if I had the choice to watch something painful to me or avoid it, I would always watch it. It destroyed me every time, but I always came out of it with the strength to live. It was masochistic, but it had a purpose.

Genkai laughed and shook her head at me as she said, "I won't be fighting any more battles for you, Rin. You're on your own and I'm pretty sure the others can't step up either. You have to do this alone, but that doesn't mean we can't help you along the way. Now, enough of this useless chatting. It's time for me to give you my final lesson as your sensei."

"Yes, Master Genkai," I said standing straight and bowing to her formally. I looked back up and we walked over to where there was a tree stump. The rain continued to pour around us and Genkai sat down in wearily on the stump. She moved her dull-colored hair from her face and set her serious eyes on me.

"Your lightning is natural to your powers and because of that you have the ability to control it. It's just going to be difficult. So, first you must understand one of the reasons it harms you to use it and in truth, it's the very reason that makes you an exception to all original rules. You can't be put in a specific category. You're a human and yet you're a demon at the same time. It breaks the rules of our reality, but considering the circumstances you've told me, I'm not surprised. It's that fact alone that makes what I'm about to teach you very difficult for me to explain. In other words, shut your mouth and open your mind! Otherwise we won't get anywhere and you may end up dead in the ring come the final battle," Genkai lectured staring at me seriously. I instantly sat on my knees in front of her in a classic martial arts sitting position and gave her my full undivided attention.

"I understand, sensei."

"Good, now the reason it hurts you when you use lightning is because you still have that humanity within you. Humans can't handle lightning and be able to stay alive unless they have strong spiritual power such as Yusuke and Kuwabara. Your spirit and demon energy is so tightly infused that the damage isn't absorbed by the demonic side. What you have to do is control your human side and suppress it enough so the demon in you can allow the lightning to course through you. This, of course is dangerous, and could very well kill you or cause you to go insane because the stress on your body will be tremendous until you are able to master it. However, this is a pinprick compared to what Yusuke is going through so I expect no complaining out of your mouth!" Genkai growled in her normal tone of voice almost sounding as if nothing was wrong. If it weren't for the exhaustion evident on her face I would've felt a bit better.

"Yes, sensei," I said quietly.

"You've changed a bit since we first met. You whined as much as the slacker did. Now, you've grown as a fighter and know what you must do. I can't demonstrate this for you and I can't tell you exactly how you have to do this. You have to seal away your human emotions and letting the fighting spirit of your demon self take over. That's the only way you can get through this and with that said you should start working on that now. Continue working until the sun has completely set. Go where you won't be disturbed," Genkai commanded staring at me with steel-like eyes.

I nodded and stood slowly. Knowing that Genkai could only tell me so much, I bit back my questions and dashed off to where I was before she called me. I slowly stepped onto the sand beside the water and felt the rain soak into my very soul. There was nothing but gloom on the island and I'm sure my friends weren't the only ones suffering under its affects. I brushed my short hair from my face and looked over the raging water in the storm. Could I really suppress my humanity long enough to let the lightning course through me and then close it off without going insane? Then again, if Genkai believed in me did I really have any place to question that?

"Alright you annoying hag. Here it goes," I said taking off my jacket and tossing it on the sand. I kicked off my shoes and took a moment to get used to the feeling of the wet sand under my feet. I threw my weapons to the ground beside me and closed my eyes. Though the rain continued to pour around me and the thunder crashed above me, I managed to soothe myself into a state where I was the calmest I could ever remember being. Nothing crossed my mind and it was as if nothing around me existed. It was that place I usually reached just before falling asleep and was barely aware. It was the true meaning of Zen.

I couldn't tell you how long I stood there in the rain without moving or paying any attention as to what was around me, but I can tell you how I was awoken from it. A strange feeling hit my chest and I felt as if the wind was knocked out of me. I gasped at the sudden inability to breathe and fell to my knees in shock. It passed as quickly as it came and I snatched at my weapons only to have my hands stopped by a pair of pale hands. My voice instantly caught in my throat and I looked up into a pair of dark-red eyes similar to my own. After a few moments, I was able to properly breathe and say, "Hello, Ghost."

"Rin Ishida, I mean you no harm. I have no intention of fighting you outside the ring. I just wished to meet you before our battle…to better understand the opponent I have been put against," Ghost spoke in a soft but deep voice that was difficult to hear over the raging thunder and wind, but I found my ears unconsciously honing in so I could hear him easier.

"Alright…what…what is it you're trying to understand?" I asked looking at him curiously. I relaxed my muscles to indicate I believed him and he pulled back his hands to release me. I sat back and stretched my legs out before me realizing how much they cramped after standing for so long. I lounged back and looked at him and continued, "I'm not that difficult to understand. I'm not as cryptic as you all and I'm not nearly as interesting."

"You're incorrect on that matter. In fact, you are by far the most interesting being in Morte's eyes. Lately she has been losing sleep. Something is happening that she did not plan on and I am not sure what that means. I'm merely ordered to defeat you in the ring at all costs and just before you die take over your body long enough for her to extract something from it before you die. I have not been told what it is she wants to gain or what you have that interests her, but all I know is that she will put her life in mortal danger to retrieve it. That says something because Morte is a very selfish female and would only put her life in danger as a last resort. This intrigues me and I wish to know what it is that she wants," Ghost said hovering over me with a calm face. I glanced around out of the corner of my eyes and took in the situation. My shoes were a few feet behind me to the left and my weapons were a few feet in front of me to the right. Ghost was closer than either of them and I still had no clue whatsoever as to the power he possessed. Not to mention, there was something strange going on that was distressing Morte and it had to deal with something I apparently had inside of me…what the hell was going on?!

"Alright…you've officially gotten my attention. Extract? Retrieve? There's a lot going on within the past day that's gotten really strange and now I have more pieces to the puzzle that I don't know what the heck to do with," I stated calmly looking at Ghost with a curious look.

"Your dreams? I took notice of them when we first met. They were replaying out in your eyes. I'm surprised none of your comrades took notice of them," Ghost said turning his attention away from me to the ocean water before us.

"I'm sure a few of them did…they just didn't say anything about it because I didn't give them the chance. I guarantee you that if I had given them that chance they would've taken it in a heartbeat. None of those guys know the definition of minding their own business and leaving others alone," I muttered slowly standing up and grabbing at my chakram in case I would need them. I hooked them on my hips and quickly reached back to slip my feet into my shoes. Then I grabbed my jacket and dusted the sand out of it before putting it on. I stopped and glanced back at Ghost to see he was still focused on the waves crashing against the shore.

"What do you think the dreams refer to?" he asked quietly crossing his arms as he turned back to focus his deep eyes on me. I watched him for a moment and took in the scene. Outside had gotten much darker and I was sure it was well into the night. Yet, Ghost stood there with an aura around him that made it look as if the sun was shining on him. I could see him clearly in the dark night and he stuck out from the entire scene. I wondered how someone like that could disappear so easily, but dismissed it as his powers. Ghost, after all, had to mean something, much like Siren did in my first match.

"I'm honestly not sure. I…" I instantly bit my tongue and sat back with my hands on my hips. I couldn't tell him anything! He was working with Morte! What the hell was I thinking! Just because he seemed nice didn't mean anything! Damn it! I wasn't accustomed to be so trusting with ANYONE. How the bloody hell did that almost slip?!?!

"The Yin-Yang Eye?" Ghost asked looking at me with a blank face. I instantly froze, but before I could say anything else there was maniacal laughter that broke out around us. Ghost and I instantly spun around to face the trees behind us and my heart plummeted as I saw Morte walking forward. I stepped back toward the water and my head started spinning. Oh great…this was a set up wasn't it? Ghost only pulled me this close and let me trust him to have Morte come kick my ass. Just great. I flashed a glare at Ghost. Yet…he seemed just as surprised as I was that Morte had appeared.

"Well, I go out on a little walk to clear my mind and what do I come across? My dear comrade is associating himself with my bitter enemy. What is this world coming to? Unless he was planning on setting up a sneak attack when she was least expecting it, I would have to say my fighter was going soft on me," Morte laughed into the back of her hand. It was then I really took notice of her worn features. It was possible that the fights were taking a toll on her, but I highly doubted it. It was most likely due to a lack of proper sleep. There were dark circles under her eyes and her movements were dull. She couldn't move nearly as elegantly as she did before and she seemed to almost stumble every few seconds. Whatever was bugging me…seemed to be doing twice as much to her. THAT put a smirk on my face.

"It would be deeply appreciated if you would not refer to me as a mere object, as I am a living creature. Also, further insults to my character shall cost you more than you are currently paying for my services. There are multiple jobs I could've chosen without the degrading words and I find myself growing weary of your sharp tongue. Keeping it in check around those under your employment should be as high a priority as it is when you're in the presence of the Toguro brothers. Furthermore, I had the intentions of speaking with the fighter you wish me to brutalize in the arena. I think it's a fair trade considering I would be the one dirtying my hands with her blood. It's a small consolation to actually know a little about the life I could be possibly taking and perhaps weigh better on my conscience under the circumstances. I would appreciate it that you would keep further degrading comments to yourself and leave this job completely to me as you are paying me for it. Should I not do it to your standards, you may step in and I will take what pay I deserve and leave," Ghost said in a chilling monotone that caused my entire body to freeze up. There were two emotions running through me that completely contradicted each other and made it difficult to breathe.

The first was how much I was really beginning to like Ghost. He didn't put up with any bullshit and basically told Morte that it was his choice to be doing all of this. She had no say if he turned around and left. That in itself showed exactly how little power Morte actually had to use against him. He was an independent mind…unlike the other fools Morte sent to fight me.

The second emotion was cold fear. How could Ghost talk so…emotionlessly about killing me while I was standing right there after all the talking we had done not even ten minutes before?! Was I really just another meaningless life he could take away after all of that? I was under the impression that there was a connection that could possibly become a friendship. Then again I was a human from another world and Ghost was a demon that didn't seem to have much contact with humans. In fact he almost seemed like the kind of person who was constantly on his own…so I could very well just be an aspect of his job that interests him.

Morte's face flashed in anger, but she seemed to bite back her comment and watch Ghost carefully. She seemed to calm down in a matter of minutes and then offered a smile at him. She crossed her arms in a girlish way and even though it was obvious she was worn, somehow managed to look like a seductive temptress as she gazed into the fighter's eyes. I felt my face burn with jealousy and I became even more so aware of my own looks compared to hers. I had some good features about myself that I was proud of, but Morte, and the other girls of the group, trumped me in my opinion. Now, the witch was flaunting it. That just made me wanna kill her even more….bitch….

"I forgot how much of an independent thinker you are, Ghost. I apologize. Of course, I'll leave this job up to you and you'll be paid right after it's completed. I will learn to watch what I say from now on. I hope you'll accept my apologies," she purred in a voice that made me want to ripe her voice box out. I liked it better when she was talking about how she was going to kill me.

"Your apologies are noted. Now, it would be good for us to return to our groups. The Toguro brothers surely need to speak with you over the finals and I must return to my own group to speak with them over our upcoming match. I would imagine that Rin must also speak with her group. I shall take my leave of this company," Ghost said walking past me toward Morte. He stopped at her side and indicated that he would not leave until she went before him. She flashed an infuriated glare my way and then took Ghost's arm. I nearly gagged on the way she clung to him, but Ghost hardly seemed to notice her presence at all. They disappeared into the trees and left me alone on the beach.

I stood completely still in the pouring rain and tried to gather my thoughts. I felt colder than I did before and sensed a bit of unease from my comrades. I knew they were wondering where Genkai, Yusuke, and I was and were worried that something had happened to us. I slowly began trudging back to the apartments trying to think of a good story I could give them. I stopped under the trees outside the building and looked up at the sky as lightning streaked across it once again. What was with the dreary, dramatic storm? Of course, what was with me just standing there in the rain brooding over everything that happened?

"I'm a real piece of work, aren't I?" I laughed at myself walking into the building. I walked past a couple groups of people who were annoyed that I hadn't attempted to dry myself off and resisted all urge to show them my wolfish side by shaking it off on them. Yet, I behaved and opened the door to where all of my friends were gathered playing cards and celebrating our victories. They all looked up, including Hiei as he sat at the windowsill, and seemed completely surprised at my drowned-catlike appearance. I smiled between strands of hair and said, "What have you all been up to?"

"Partying! Come and join us kid!" Atsuko said holding up a beer bottle. Keiko sweat-dropped and looked away as if she didn't know the woman she was sitting next to. It made me laugh and I was reminded of my family back home.

"It'd probably be a good idea if you dried yourself off first. How long were you out in the rain?" Shizuru asked looking over me carefully. I instantly felt like a younger sister and wondered how Kuwabara felt all the time living with her.

"Awhile. I'll come join you after getting into some dry clothes and getting something to eat," I smiled and took my shoes off. I walked over to my room and disappeared into it. I stripped off the wet clothes and threw them on the floor while grabbing my dry, warm clothes to throw on. I pulled a hoodie over my head and wrapped my hair in a towel to help it dry. I stepped out of the room and found myself standing face-to-face with Kurama. He had a bowl of soup in his hands and was just about to knock on my door. I smiled and said, "Well, talk about your timing."

"You seemed tired. I thought it would be nice to have some food waiting," Kurama said holding the bowl out to me. I took it gratefully and walked over to a seat where I could watch them all playing. They went back to their game of cards and I ate my soup without bothering anyone. I glanced over at Hiei every once in a while and noticed him making frequent glances at me and the others. I wondered what was going through his mind, but dismissed it. Frankly, I was tired and I didn't want anything else to be thrown at me. I finished my soup and snuck off to bed without any of them noticing. I curled up under the covers and fell asleep within seconds of my head touching the pillow.

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Maniacal laughter was echoing around. It bounced off the barriers of my mind. It raced through me. Heat began licking at the tips of my fingers. Sweat was pouring down my back. There was chanting. It was some language I couldn't understand. It was persistent. I turned in my sleep. Was I actually asleep? Was it a bed I was lying in? Or maybe I was on fire. I moved again and pain suddenly seared through my arm. Damn, how much of a beating was that one part of my body going to take. I growled. I realized my breathing was rapid and shallow. Did I have a fever? Was that the reason for this ungodly heat?

There was suddenly a light before my eyes. I squeezed my eyelids shut even tighter. More voices danced around me. These were different. They came from outside of my head and sounded concerned. Cold fingers tips touched my forehead. The smell of roses drifted around me and another familiar smell followed it. They faded. Silence enveloped me. I suddenly felt colder and pulled the blankets closer to me. I ran my tongue across the bridge of my mouth. There was a strange taste…almost like medicine?

I turned to my other side and dug my nails into the pillow. I bit down on my lip and curled up under the covers. My temperature was returning to normal. The pain was subsiding. I rolled onto my back and got comfortable once again. I was drifting off once again when an interesting voice echoed one last time through my mind.

"_Come back to reality, you baka onna. You only have so much time before the fights."_

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"Come on, Rin! You need to get up! Come on! Wakey, wakey!" a bouncy voice called faintly from the other side of my bedroom door. I wrinkled my nose and pulled the cover over my head in an attempt to go back to sleep. Then she began banging on the door and I shot up into a sitting position out of pure irritation. I was definitely not a morning person.

"Alright! Quit making a scene!" I shouted throwing the covers back and glanced at the clock. It was five at night and I cocked my head to the side. How long had I been asleep? What day was it?

"It's the day before our fights," a voice said causing me to jump and look wildly around the room. Hiei was sitting in a chair on the far side of the room and was staring at me with a disinterested stare. I felt my stomach flip and wondered what trouble I was in this time. I glanced over at the door and Hiei interrupted my thoughts by saying, "It's locked and none of them realize that I'm here except for Kurama. We've been taking shifts watching you."

"Uh…why?" I asked in confusion.

"You were suffering from a fever and might have been delusional. Kurama came in to check on you and had me keep the others away from the room until we could get your fever down. There was no use in concerning those fools before the fight," Hiei answered coldly.

"Oh," I said looking down at the ground. Why hadn't I locked the door the first time I went to sleep? That way Kurama and Hiei wouldn't have known and I would've been fine by the time we fought. This is what happens when I don't plan ahead.

"Rin, are you up?!" Botan shouted from the other side of the door.

I growled and called back, "Yeah, I'm up!"

"Ok, we're all going down to get something to eat. You're coming with us! So hurry up and get out here!" Botan called obnoxiously causing my ears to twitch. I glanced over at Hiei and saw an amused smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. I waved my fist at him and stood up.

"Fine! Give me five minutes," I said turning to look at Hiei serious. Something he said perked my interest and I wondered what he was thinking.

"You said I was delusional. What exactly did you hear?" I asked standing directly in front of him. I planned on attempting to stop him if he tried to avoid me, but I wasn't sure how much I would be able to do.

"You have very interesting voices going through your mind. Especially the ones that are ordering you to kill…I was unaware of the demonic tendencies within you. There are more than I originally thought. You'd be wise to keep those voices in check before you get any crazy ideas that you couldn't hope to carry out," Hiei said walking past me to head out the window. I watched him leave and had one last question to ask.

"If you had to consider me a threat…how bad of one would I be?" I asked looking at his back with a blank face. The swordsman stopped for a second and offered a small glance back before perching himself on the windowsill.

"One that should be watched carefully," Hiei answered before disappearing in to the trees. I felt a little better after that, though I couldn't tell you why. I quickly pulled on a different pair of jeans and a tank before rushing outside to meet the rest of the girls for dinner.

The rest of the night continued uneventfully. It was the normal bonding we had while we ate and the guys tended to show up at different moments. Kuwabara was glued to Yukina's side and Kurama hovered nearby whenever it suited him. Hiei came at one point and managed to swipe some food without anyone, but myself noticing. A smile crossed my face when he had done so and I was able to hide it with a laugh at the joke Botan had told.

We went back to the rooms after we finished eating and after a few games of cards we went to bed. I curled up under the covers and wondered what the fights were going to be like. I would have to fight Ghost the next morning…the concept had me a little worried.

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Sleep dazed me, but I sensed something outside that caused me to jump awake. I threw my blankets to the floor and dashed over to the window. I choked when I saw Ghost standing outside and looking up to the window. He motioned for me to open the window and once I had he disappeared from the ground. My eyes widened as I looked around and had to cover my mouth to keep from screaming when I saw Ghost next. He was hovering outside my window without anything underneath him. I struggled to keep my breathing in order and whispered, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I was unable to give you something that you may need before our fight. It may seem like nothing to you at all right now, but it'll help you in time to come," Ghost answered quietly as he held out his hand to me. He dropped a strange see-through stone into my hand and disappeared seconds later. I closed my window in a numb surprise and looked over the stone in my hand. It was a perfect circle and was a yin-and-yang. I ran my finger down the line that separated the black from the white. What could this stone possibly mean to me? Why did he say I would need it? And why did he keep giving me things I would need to possibly beat him?

"Damn it," I muttered throwing on my clothes and shoving the stone into my pocket. I walked out after brushing my hair and went to make myself some tea. There was a persistent throbbing in the back of my head and I sat down on the couch waiting for someone else to wake up. To my surprise it was Kuwabara.

"You're awake pretty early," Kuwabara said looking at me with surprise.

"Yeah, I wasn't able to get much sleep in, but then again I slept through most of yesterday. I'm pretty much rested up for this fight, ya know?" I laughed taking a sip of my tea.

"I know what you mean…are you worried about your fight?" Kuwabara asked looking at me with a concerned glance.

"Of course…Ghost scares the hell out of me…possibly more so than Morte…but at the same time I know he's different. It's just like playing Russian Roulette. Something I'm sure you and Yusuke know all about," I answered glancing out the window. It was getting later in the morning…which meant that everyone would be waking up in a matter of time. Then we'd head out to fight.

"Well, yeah…so what do you think is gonna happen when we win?" Kuwabara asked looking at me seriously.

"I think we'll be stronger in more ways than one, but you guys may not be so willing to work with me anymore. Right after the semifinals I'm telling you guys everything. Where I come from, and whatever else I can tell. Then you have to decide if you want to keep me around after the tournament or not," I said putting my empty mug on the table. I stood and walked over to the window to stare out at trees.

"Uh…what do ya mean? Why…would we want to get rid of you?" Kuwabara asked standing up and I could hear the worry in his voice. I turned around and shook my head with a smile on my face.

"It's nothing you have to worry about now. Focus on the fights to come."

"As we all should. It's time we all got going," Kurama said from the door making Kuwabara and me flinch. Hiei stood at his friend's side and we nodded. Together the four of us left the apartments and headed for the new arena we would be fighting at. Kuwabara kept throwing concerned looks at me. I finally smiled and patted him on the back to show that everything was ok. He nodded as if finally assured that it was going to be ok and offered a genuine smile before we came into view of the arena. It was then that I looked up and saw that we were standing only yards away from the building.

"That's…creepy as hell," I muttered feeling chills race down my spine.

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_**ME:**_** Well, there's the twenty-first chapter for you all. Sorry it took so long to update. I tried to add a little bit to Ghost as well since everyone liked him so much. **

_**Hiei:**_** He did receive quite a reaction didn't he?**

_**ME:**_** Yeah…I actually haven't decided how to end that battle now. I know what I want to do, but the reviewers reactions leaves quite a few new ideas I could use. **

_**Hiei:**_** I guess we'll see what you do in the next chapter.**

_**ME:**_** Exactly. Review everyone and thank you for sticking with the story! There will be more to come! See ya later!**


	22. Anyone Else Smell Blood?

_**ME:**_** Well, it's good to know that so many people are still reading this fanfic. It really makes me happy to go through and read all of your comments and it makes writing it even more fun for me. You all are great.**

_**Hiei:**_** It seems this Ghost character has caused a stir through your readers.**

_**ME:**_** I noticed that as well, and I'm going to have a lot of fun with this.**

_**Hiei:**_** She owns only her characters and a deep love of the Yu-Yu Hakusho storyline.**

_**ME:**_** Yes. Sigh. It'd be awesome if they would continue it. Oh well, chapter start!**

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_I'm so sorry that it's taken me so long to get this chapter out. I've gotten a little sidetracked with things happening in my life and kinda…lost track of what I was doing. Lol. Thank you all for bearing with me! (Bows apologetically) Thanks again._

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___**Chapter 22: Anyone Else Smell Blood?**_

"That's…creepy as hell," I muttered feeling chills race down my spine.

The building had a dark aura around it and it seemed to look like a strange, horned bug that would crawl away at any moment. That alone disturbed me because I always had a little aversion to anything with multiple limbs and crawled around the place. I could sense the bloodlust from the demons more so than before and I knew that this time the battles would indeed be worse than before. It was too close to end and our opponents weren't going to lose unless we came close to, or actually killed them all. Knowing how the fights were supposed to end didn't help me much either. I hated the fact that I knew each of my comrades were guaranteed safety, but I on the other hand could've been as good as dead at any given moment.

I took a deep breath and followed my comrades into the belly of the beast, so to speak. We walked through the halls in silence and listened to the roar of the crowd that was eager to get underway with the battles and bloodshed. It shook the hall we were walking down and the vibrations raced up through the floor and into my body, unsettling my already nervous stomach. I felt my heart begin to beat down my ribcage in fear. What would Ghost do once we were in the ring? Would he continue to be the calm, almost friendly fight I had come to know, or would he turn to be a sadistic fighter only intent on causing as much pain as possible without killing me off right away? An even better question was what did Hiei think of me now since he knew about the voices I've been hearing? After all…that wasn't the best way to prove that I was still sane and able to do as I wished without being controlled.

I threw a side-glance his way and saw that he was watching me extremely carefully. I quickly averted my eyes to my feet and bit the corner of my lip. I didn't exactly feel comfortable with a stare like his boring itself into my skull. It was just "slightly" intimidating to someone like me…who was weaker than him. I felt his presence enter my mind and seconds later he asked, _"How long have you been under the orders to kill us?"_

_ "Well…basically, since I came to this world. I've been telling Morte to burn in hell since the day I met her. I haven't wanted to cause any harm to any of you and been doing everything I can possibly do not to become a danger to any of you," _I answered quietly. It disgusted me how pathetically weak I sounded…I wouldn't blame Hiei, or any of the others, if they had wanted to kill me off right then and there.

_"And you've been ignoring it ever since. So, you have some self-restraint after all. It seems that you may have more potential to be worth something than I thought," _Hiei said turning his attention to the door we now stood in front of. I strained my ears and listened to the announcements on the other side. Which was easier since I had wolf hearing after all.

"I'm Juri, your semifinals referee! Thank you for your patience! Please give a warm welcome to the teams for the first match!" the aquatic demon-girl announced as the doors began to slowly open before us. I took a deep breath and composed myself…amazingly. Of course there was the nagging voice in the back of my mind, tauntingly asking how long it would last. Of course, there was always that little voice for a true pessimist like me.

"And we're off! This is Koto and I'll be bringing you the play-by-play, moment by moment!" the fox demoness shouted as the doors finally opened all the way. Our team stepped into the light and the inside of the building gave me even more creeps than the outside. Demons began shouting over the missing members of our crew and Juri attempted to show off her… "cuteness." I almost choked, but was occupied by getting into the ring without tripping over my own two feet in front of the crowd. Which was difficult since I'm a complete and total klutz. Back home a day without me falling down (or up) the stairs was a miracle. Tripping over my own two feet was something so natural that even adults who only knew me briefly just brushed it off and went on without asking if I was alright.

"They all right? Did they…heh heh…get cold feet?" Shishiwakamaru laughed at us in his normal superior tone. I wanted to walk over to him and rip out the two bangs of hair that fell in his face. Instead, I stuck to biting the corner of my lip. After all, it wouldn't be the best way to start off a match with me acting like a hormonal teenage girl. It would be funny as hell, but not the best way to act in front of a bunch of demons that could probably eat me alive.

"You're just not worth their trouble," Kuwabara answered in a cool tone that, I had to admit, made him sound pretty badass. Kuwabara knew how to keep up appearances…sort of. I gave him a smile and appreciated how he acted as the protector when I needed him too.

"Team captains will now decide the mode of competition!" Juri announced into the microphone that sent it echoing through the stadium. I felt a slight irritation and wasn't able to keep my smart comments to myself much longer. Which I had to admit would be my downfall eventually…because I was going to smart off to the wrong person and they were going to put me in place without even trying.

"Really? I thought we were going to stand around and suddenly be served milk and cookies," I shot at her causing an annoyed look to come over her face. Faintly, I was sure I heard Koto snickering from where she was sitting.

"I'm the announcer of the tournament. It's my job to tell the audience what is supposed to happen," Juri said putting her hands on her hips. She snapped her head at me in her way of saying, "I-am-so-much-prettier-than-you-so-shut-your-mouth."

"No, you're job is to stand there and be something pretty for the drooling monkeys to watch while there is no action going on," I hissed seething. Kuwabara was unable to keep his snickering under control and even Kurama offered a sound of amusement. Juri's face puffed in anger, but before she was able to say anything, Hiei got us back to the matter at hand. I had a feeling that he didn't find it too amusing that we were having a battle of wits instead of a battle of fists.

"Why bother? Let's just do it," Hiei growled causing all of us to turn our attention back to the opposing team. I focused on Ghost and saw him looking over my friends carefully. It seemed as though he was trying to see how strong they were and how they would react to his own power. I saw him linger over Hiei for a moment before looking to me. I was confused, but wasn't able to think about it much before the story began to continue.

"Feelin' feisty, eh, kid? Wanna be first up?" Poison Peach Boy said looking down his nose at Hiei while blowing a bubble. Hiei remained calm, but his aura was so overpowering that it made my head spin. If we hadn't been working on my resistance to the Jagan I would've probably blacked out from the pressure. I'm sure he didn't think about how it was affecting me and even if he had, he wouldn't have stopped for my sake. On the contrary…he probably would've made it worse to get a point across.

"First…and last? Normally I wouldn't bother with your sort…but I've been in a bad mood lately and I need to work off some stress," Hiei said flexing his hand that held the dragon. I felt his anger pulse through the area and stepped back to keep myself out of the way of his power. I couldn't even begin to imagine how much power Hiei could displace on someone if he was truly angry. Shishiwakamaru reached into his outfit and pulled out a pair of dice.

"Heh…cool down, bud. We can let these decide," he said holding the dice out for us to see. The original names of the fighters were written on it and I managed to catch sight of the word choice. I wrinkled my nose in confusion. I didn't see Ghost's name or mine…so I wondered what they had in store for us. The annoying demon laughed and continued, "I've put our names on these dice, along with "choice." If that comes up, your team gets to pick their contender. And you can fight as often as your name comes up-as long as you're still breathing, that is. Also, at random during one of the rolls the dice will turn gold and be completely blank. That will signify that our honorary fighters are going to fight. We'll see what happens then."

"Fine, whatever. I'll fill in for Yusuke and Mask, of course," Hiei replied in a cold monotone that freaked me out. One would think that I would be used to all the fighting by now, but it steadily kept getting worse. Of course it didn't really help that I knew how bad it was going to get for them, but every single time I came into the mix I had no freaking clue! It was times like these that I wished I had supernatural powers that dealt with having visions of the future… Oh yeah…that'd be awesome…until I saw what was coming. Then I'd be wishing I was at home watching Rent with my mother or something tame like that! Give me a sappy musical that made me cry over this any day!

"As you like. No fame in winning by default, that's for sure," Shishiwakamaru said tossing the dice into the air. I already knew what the first fight was and turned to walk out of the ring. I heard the dice hit the ground and Hiei made a nose of satisfaction. The rest of my friends followed and so did our opponents, except Hiei and Evil Kintaro.

"So, I'm up first anyway," Hiei said in a cocky tone as he looked up at his opponent. I watched as the two fighters stood toe-to-toe. If one didn't know Hiei they would've thought he'd be slaughtered in seconds. Kintaro was twice his size! Maybe more! Had Hiei been anyone else besides a member of our group he would've lost for sure.

"Too bad for you, shrimp," Kintaro said flexing his muscles at him. I crossed my arms and cocked my head to the side. I wondered what Kintaro would've thought if he knew his match wouldn't even last five minutes. Would the big oaf be running home scared or would he actually stand where he was a fight a decent battle.

"First match is Hiei vs. Evil Kintaro! Guess we're in for a series of one-on-ones determined by a roll of dice!" Juri announced to the audience. I rolled my eyes and remained silent. I think…no, I _knew_ I preferred Koto over Juri. At least Koto would have SOME chance of being someone I could consider a decent acquaintance. She raised her hand and shouted, "Begin!"

Evil Kintaro and Hiei stood there glaring at each other. Evil Kintaro began cackling evilly and said, "So, runt…heh…who'll make the first move, eh?"

"Wow! Already we have a standoff!" Koto shouted to the audience in that annoying way she was well known for. Hiei didn't even react as he suddenly unsheathed his sword and leapt forward with insane speed. It was hard to see him as he sliced off Kintaro's arm and then stepped back to where he stood before, hiding the arm within his cloak. Hiei held the sword at his side and stared blankly at Kintaro. I had to admit that he was good at his poker face.

"So much for that," Kurama muttered unimpressed. I blinked in surprise at Hiei's speed, but shook my head and crossed my arms. I noticed a drop of blood fall to the ground and I arched my eyebrow. How could he not notice that his freaking arm had just been chopped off? Was it shock? Did Hiei know how to cut things without causing pain? Or was Kintaro just that much of a dumbass?!

"So? Gonna use that? Or are you just gonna stand there sweatin' blood?"

After that comment, I decided to go with the last choice. I sweat-dropped and scratched the side of my head muttering, "You know, if I was that oblivious I would want one of you guys to kill me…or someone do something to knock some sense into me. I really would hate to be like that…"

Kuwabara stared at me like he had no idea what was going on and Kurama looked unimpressed as always. I pointed for Kuwabara to watch what was going to happen and we refocused our attention on the fight. Hiei merely stared at his opponent in contempt and said, "Give me a break. Haven't you noticed yet?"

"Noticed what? Your lack of action? C'mon, at least give it a try!!" Kintaro laughed in an attempt in sound superior to Hiei. I rolled my eyes in annoyance and shrugged.

"This is how the human race is gonna end up some day. Too stupid to realize its missing a key part of itself and then it's gonna bleed to death. I just hope it doesn't happen in my lifetime…hopefully," I whispered to myself thinking about the problems we face all the time back home. It was good that one person could change the world and all, but no one knew how much time we had left…and that didn't exactly help the situation.

"No sweat," Hiei answered as he held up Kintaro's arm in the air. Kintaro froze in surprise and stared at his bleeding stump of an arm. It took a moment for the idiot to process that it just might've hurt that his arm came off and sweat began to pour from every visible pore. It was times like these that I stepped back and thought, "And I thought I was the special case." Hiei turned away from his bleeding opponent as he began to flip his lid and carelessly tossed away the arm as if it was nothing. He looked almost bored as he said, "Way to easy."

This caused Kintaro to erupt in a fit of rage and screeched, "You'll pay for that! Battle Ax Fist!" Kintaro lunged forward as fast as he possibly could and quickly bolted from where he was standing. It was slightly surprising to see someone as big a bulky move as fast as he did and even Hiei's eyes widened a fraction of a centimeter and turned around just as the large enemy was standing over him. He brought his arm over Hiei and brought it down to slice straight through him. Kintaro smirked happily and said, "Heh! Nailed 'im."

"What an idiot," I muttered with a laugh. I saw Hiei disappear and land on the fighter's head. He brandished his sword in mid air and landed on the shoulders of Kintaro so lightly that it wasn't a surprise the fighter didn't even feel it. He positioned himself to stab his katana straight through Kintaro's head and waited only a second to make eye contact with me.

"Just my after image," Hiei answered before stabbing his sword straight through Kintaro's skull, into his mouth, and out of his chin. I flinched back in disgust and wrinkled my nose in a way that slightly amused Hiei. Kuwabara nearly wet himself and Kurama looked as though it wasn't anything out of the ordinary for him. Of course, it probably was ordinary for him considering the fact that he spent the most time with Hiei out of the rest of the group. Shishiwakamaru looked astonished for a moment and Ghost looked…amused? The hell? Ok, so maybe it would've been weird if he DIDN'T have a slight sadistic side. He was a demon after all.

"Roll 'em, bud. Any bets on whether it'll by my turn again?" Hiei said in his normal badass way as he pointed at Shishiwakamaru. I rolled my eyes for a moment and resisted the urge to mutter something about him being a show off. It didn't really matter thought because Hiei quickly replied, _"In this tournament, you prove your strength by demolishing your opponent. Soft human sentiments will have you crushed. Remember that."_

"_You don't have to keep reminding me that I'm inferior to you, you condescending jackass. I understand the picture just fine. Besides, I haven't screwed up yet and I don't plan on starting now,"_ I answered sounding slightly aggravated and offended. Hiei shrugged it off and looked back at the opposing fighters. I got a small vein in my forehead and twitched. It was cool that Hiei wouldn't try to kill me, but just being tossed aside like I was nothing was just as bad.

"Evil Kintaro is down and clearly out of the fight! The winner of the first match is Hiei!" Juri announced in excitement as the audience erupted into roars of astonishment. None of them could believe that Hiei had moved so fast and killed his opponent like he was a mere bug. They all had been expecting a little more of a struggle and were too shocked to angry about it. I looked at Juri like she was an absolute idiot. That freaking dumbass demon just has a sword rammed through his brains. NO DOUBT HE WAS OUT OF THE FREAKING FIGHT! You'd have to be an idiot to not see that one.

"Sorry blow-by-blow fans, but that was too fast to follow!" Koto shouted over the roar of the audience. I would've agreed before, but Hiei had helped my train for the tournament. I was able to catch his movements a little easier now because he never gave me any slack. I could still feel the aches and pains from him pounding my body to a pulp day in and day out, but at least it all worked out to something in the end. I was proud of my progress since I was able to see things that normally would've overwhelmed me and possibly made me run in fear. The downtime between matches didn't last long and Hiei was on edge for more battles. Sometimes I wondered who was more of a combat junkie, Yusuke or Hiei.

"Roll the dice. I'm itching for another."

"Cocky runt ain'tcha," Shishiwakamaru said with a sigh as he tossed the dice out before him. He wasn't impressed with Hiei's powers yet and just wanted to get the battles done and over with so he could rise to fame. Silence fell over the crowd and the dice bounced along the ground with a dull ding. Each ding across the ring echoed through my sensitive hearing and I watched closely as they flipped through the air to finally land on two names. Everyone leaned forward and saw what they had to say. Choice and Poison Peach Boy.

I faintly heard thunder rumble outside of the arena and flinched inwardly. I hadn't been afraid of thunder since I was in elementary school, but it always made my heart flip with the initial thunder clash. This time it was worse because at the moment I was inside at least safe for the moment and Yusuke…well he was fighting for his life against the immense power Genkai was bestowing on him. I knew he survived and came back more kickass than he was before, but the whole process supposedly caused more pain than one could think of enduring. I imagined Yusuke writhing on the floor of the cave in unbearable pain just a ways away from the fights and glanced back down the doors we came in from. It was hard knowing that he was enduring so much pain as we just stood there and I closed my eyes as I whispered, "Just last a little longer, Yusuke. We're gonna need all the power you can give us in the fights to come. We're all behind you."

"We picked out contender and once again, it's me!" Hiei said confidently as he stood in the ring. He was ready for a fight and I sweatdropped slightly. Men were so frickin' crazy. It didn't matter what world you were in, this reality or back home. Men were absolutely insane.

"For the second match, it's Hiei vs. Poison Peach Boy!! Juri announced as she dashed close to the very edge of the ring and stood safely on the sidelines. Poison Peach Boy (what a name I might add) began talking with the old man of the team about Hiei's power and Hiei waited patiently for them to be done. Meanwhile, Kuwabara began calming down and Kurama looked over the opponents. I took a breath and took the downtime to look over Ghost.

I couldn't tell what kind of fighter he was. Nothing about the way he stood even gave me the slightest clue. He didn't even seem to be carrying any weapons that I would be able to guess about his fighting style. It kind of worried me what it would be like to fight him. The name Ghost surely meant something other than just a simple name and I had a feeling in my chest that something was going to go very wrong for me. He would be able to do something in our battle that I wouldn't be able to properly defend against. Yet…Ghost had no intentions of destroying me that I could sense. So, I could breathe…for now.

"Forward!" Juri called into the microphone as though they weren't already in the ring. I rolled my eyes and began tapping my fingers across my crossed arm. My nose twitched and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kurama snickering at me. I arched my eyebrow and turned to him.

"_What is it that you find so amusing over there?"_

"_I'm just taking into account your opinionated nature. It's clear when you don't like something or someone because your eyes get sharper and your mouth gets thin. You also wrinkle your nose as you're doing now. On top of that you usually have something to say that clearly states exactly how you feel about the situation. It's lucky for our group because we won't struggle to understand your meanings," _Kurama answered with a smile. My face went blank and I stopped to think for a minute.

I was always so proud of being opinionated. It set me apart from everyone else and it sure made the impressions I left on people memorable. Then again, maybe it wasn't a good thing that I was always so…blunt when speaking with people. I didn't really think to spare anyone from what I was thinking and just spoke without stopping to see if it would be painful to hear. One example was when we found a blanket in a store that had an actor's face on it from a recent movie they had been in. I hadn't meant anything bad when I said it, but I liked the blanket…except for the fact it had his face all down the middle of it. So, without even thinking about it, I said, "This would be an awesome blanket…if it didn't have his face on it." My friends just laughed at me, but had it been anyone who liked the character, they would've been offended. I wasn't insulting the actor…I just didn't want a blanket with his face on it…I'm sure that I had hurt many people I cared about because of the fact I didn't think over what I said before saying it. Kurama hadn't meant anything when he said what he did, but it made me stop and think about the things I've done in the past and how it wasn't always a good thing for me to act the way I did. I turned back to face the fight and bit my lip. Half of me was lost in my own little world and the other half was focused on what was unraveling in the ring. It was then that I noticed something.

WHY in GOD'S name didn't they freaking remove Kintaro's body from the ring during the time between fights?!

"Too bad about Evil Kintaro. Still, if you ask me, he wasn't much to begin with," Poison Peach Boy said as he knelt beside his comrade's body and took a hold of Hiei's sword. He looked at it for a moment before suddenly jerking the blade out of Kintaro's skull and throwing the body back out of the ring. I flinched as his body met with the ground. So that's why they hadn't removed the body. They wanted to see blood splatter as he was thrown. It didn't make that much sense to me, but then again I was thinking as a human would be. It probably got a demon's blood pumping to see other blood flying through the air. Kurama and Kuwabara tensed beside me and I could sense that each of them didn't agree with such careless treatment of someone who's supposed to be a comrade. Poison Peach Boy stood up and smirked at Hiei saying, "Don't expect your tricks to work with me."

He then proceeded to lick the blade of the sword. I shivered in disgust and stuck out my tongue. I looked at him and said, "Why would anyone do that? That's just gross and unsanitary! It's one thing that Hiei does that to his own sword. I mean he knows where it's been, but this guy has no idea! Sick."

"But you don't say anything about the fact that they're both licking blood off the sword… Blood, mind you, that is not their own," Kurama said looking at me with a smile.

"Yeah…about that…Ew?" I laughed looking back at the fight. Touché, Kurama, touché.

"Nice sword," Poison Peach Boy said in disinterest as he held it before him. He wasn't really looking it over as if it was anything of value, but instead just looked at it like it was a Christmas gift he planned on returning at the earliest opportunity.

"Keep it if you like. I'll take your life as an even trade," Hiei answered crossing his arms. I tilted my head to the side and thought about it for a minute. If Hiei killed him because he traded the sword, he'd get the sword back anyway because it wouldn't be any use to a dead man… It was funny to think about how much Hiei like that sword of his. I wondered where he first got it and how many have died at its blade. That was an interesting thought. Hiei was a ruthless killer before he met Kurama and them. He killed for fun and that was the only reason why he had survived for so long in the demon world. So, trying to figure how many died because of that specific sword would be an interesting idea.

"That so? Much obliged," Poison Peach Boy holding his hand out in front of him, just inches away from the blade of the sword. With one quick swipe, he chopped off his fingers on his free hand and let them plop to the ground with sickening sounds as blood gushed out of them. I just about gagged. Everyone else in the arena had no idea what he was doing. They either thought he wasn't completely there in the head or thought he was a complete idiot.

Poison Peach Boy began to laugh almost maniacally, or maybe it was complete maniacal laughter, but his name and looks didn't help the creepy factor too much, and sweat poured down his face from the pain. He took a breath and said, "Whoo, man, that smarts. That's one sharp blade!" He leaned forward slightly over his hand and began to regulate his breathing. As much as I hated this guy, I had to admit that he had a damn good power. Not many would be able to fight against pain like that. Then again Hiei wasn't like many other fighters either. He would purposefully cause pain to himself just because something didn't go as he had planned it. These fighters were too much for me to handle. Poison Peach Boy suddenly snapped his head up to focus on Hiei and said, "I've just memorized that sharpness! And now… a Millet Dumpling!"

He pulled out the dumpling and quickly crushed it in his hand. A smoke-like steam began floating around him and he blew some of it out of his mouth. He began powering up and his body began changing. Fur began covering his entire body and I was reminded of the werewolf movies back home. Sheesh, this guy would've made a great person for those movies. Aura began radiating from Poison Peach Boy and he called out, "Beast Armor One – Demon Simian Pelt!"

Koto began shouting something out to the crowd, but I was faintly aware that for some reason I wasn't able to think straight. A dull throb began in my temples. They pounded and then the pain began to sear. I saw white flash across my sight for a moment and couldn't hear the arena anymore. It was like time froze and everything just seemed to stop. I was alone and nothing around me matter.

_Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill._

I stepped back for a moment. My eyes focused in and out on the ground. I no longer felt as though I had any control over my body. I moved involuntarily back away from my friends and began flexing my hand as though I wanted to jump in the middle of the fight. In fact the overwhelming thought of starting a fight with anyone began to race through my mind. I resisted the urge with all of my might, but I realized that I had absolutely no control over what I did anymore. My head began pounding even more and a strange feeling was overwhelming my entire being. Something…truly demonic…evil…was surging through me. I closed my eyes and tried to figure out what was happening. It was too much for me to handle and I could feel myself reaching the brink of unconsciousness.

_Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill._

"_Restrict!"_ Ghost's voice echoed through my mind and suddenly everything stopped. My eyes snapped open in surprise and I looked over at him. His eyes were closed and it seemed as though there were dark circles etched into his skin under his eyes. I sensed his power all around me and suppressing something deep inside of me. He slowly opened his eyes. I froze. Every inch of his eyes were pitch-black. It reminded me of the show I used to watch at home called Charmed. The source of all evil had the exact same eyes that reflected everything that was happening before them. Ghost stared straight into my eyes and suddenly they returned to their normal red shade. I felt everything return to normal inside of my body and it was as though nothing happened. Confusion welled inside of me once again and I looked at him hoping to get an answer. Ghost seemed almost exhausted from what he had just done and merely replied, _"The next battle will be ours. Prepare yourself well."_

"_O…ok," _I answered sounding shaky. I took a breath and asked, _"Is there something you want me to do when that happens?"_

"_Yes. Shishiwakamaru purposefully rigged the dice so they would change after the sixth roll or when he wished for them to change. I took them before the match and changed it so they would react to our will in sync. It's imperative that we fight as soon as we can after this for the safety of you and your group. When he rolls the dice after this just say aloud "Roll me" and I will do the same. The dice will obey and we will both fight. Be sure to remember that and don't have any more episodes until we fight."_

"_Yeah, I'll get right on that and make it top priority. What just happened to me?"_

"_The very thing that has been causing Morte to lose sleep. You've awakened something that she hadn't planned on or seen coming. You were merely supposed to be a puppet that would lead her to the ultimate power source in existence. Instead, your struggle against her control has awoken the consciousness of the power she so desperately wants. We have to contain it."_

"_Yeah sure. Whatever you just said, I'll trust you. I don't understand any of it." _I ran my hand through my hair and began to fall back into the reality around me. Kurama was glancing at me out of the corner of his eyes and looked ready to catch me if I fell over. I smiled at him and mouthed, "I'm alright. Just got a little… dizzy. It passed now."

He clearly didn't believe me, but the kitsune shrugged and stared back at Hiei's fight. I quickly shook the shock from my mind and followed his eyes to see Hiei lunging toward Poison Peach Boy with his sword in hand. The smaller fighter quickly dashed to stand just below the taller fighter as though it were nothing. Poison Peach Boy looked a little surprised to see Hiei appear so close to him, but as his opponent raised his sword to attack, he merely brought his hand up to block it. A shattering sound crashed through the air and I watched in awe as Hiei's sword broke into more than three different large pieces. Hiei was astounded by what happened to his blade and took half a step back in surprise. Poison Peach Boy acted on his surprise and appeared at his side. He brought his hands over his head and brought them down on Hiei's head.

"Damn," I said with my jaw dropping. It was like watching a person swat a fly. Hiei was thrown at top speed out of the ring and skid across the ground. It didn't even seem like Poison Peach Boy even exerted that much energy and Hiei didn't weigh anything to offer some kind of resistance against the blow. The fighter slammed into the wall and left a dent as he moved away to stand back up. I whistled and was amazed that Hiei moved so quickly to stand up after taking a hit like that. The audience broke into roars at Poison Peach Boy's power and how Hiei just flew across the stadium like a bug. I flinched and rubbed my back thinking that I probably wouldn't be getting up after that attack, at least not for a couple of hours. I would've had to have been carried out. Kuwabara freaked out beside me and I looked over at him to see his face pouring down sweat. It was almost amusing. Then again it was nice in a way because he showed in that simple gesture that he did care about the shrimp even when they were growling at one another. As much it seemed they hated each other, I think they had become friends in their own little way. I smiled.

Kurama on the other hand had a single bead of sweat on his forehead as he said, "He's using a customized technique! If he gets control of the contest, Hiei could be in trouble!"

"My body memorizes an opponent's attacks, while the dumplings give me the ability to withstand the damage, overcome it, and become stronger for it!" Poison Peach Boy shouted with a confident smirk. He stood himself in a strong fighting stance and roared, "So try your Blazing Fist of the Overlord, shrimp!! My body will memorize its intensity and throw it back at you!"

I stared over at Hiei to see him look unimpressed and…slightly bored? There were small clumps of dirt all over him from skidding across the ground and crashing into the wall, but otherwise looked completely fine. I loved the fact that these guys could take one hell of a brutal beating and then soon after could stand there like absolutely nothing happened. He reached up and pulled the bandana around his Jagan-eye off to throw it to the ground. The same pressure as always washed over my body when there was a Jagan around me and I closed my eyes. I overpowered the urge to faint and crossed my arms as I opened my eyes. The pressure was still there, but at least I was able to "act" like it didn't have any effect on me. Then, Hiei positioned his weight equally on his feet and began gathering his power together as he answered, "Sure…why not?" Good way to sound bored Hiei. He's got that tone of voice nailed.

Poison Peach Boy laughed like an idiot and shouted, "That's it! Gimme the works!! It's the last pitch you'll ever make to me, I guarantee it!!" I bit the inside of my lip and shook my head slightly with a devious grin threatening to overtake my expression. There were so many jokes that had come to my mind that were inappropriate and I almost couldn't stop myself from saying it. I knew one thing for sure. If I hadn't stopped myself, Kuwabara would've laughed himself into an irreversible coma. Some things are just better left unsaid.

Hiei merely continued to power up as he answered, "Get ready, then…here it comes!" I blinked in surprise as the fighter lunged into the ring and dashed straight up to Poison Peach Boy. My comrade, I thought that because I wasn't entirely sure I could call Hiei my friend just yet, sounded annoyed as he shouted, "Eat this!"

"Sure!" Poison Peach Boy answered with a laugh.

Of course this seemed to annoy Hiei even further and he attacked his enemy shouting, "Overlord Purgatory Scorch!" Hiei slammed his punch into Poison Peach Boy's face, gut, and chest. It was one hell of a blow and looked as though Poison Peach Boy couldn't even hope to recover from it. Hiei was confident as he said, "Seems I don't need the demon flame! Regular fire's more than enough to flatten you!"

Poison Peach Boy just laughed in response. Which was odd to watch because his face was half burned away and so was a decent part of his chest and gut. I wrinkled my nose at the smell of burning flesh and wondered how the hell he was still standing. It was amazing that someone could be able to ignore so much pain and continue a fight. It sure was something that I wouldn't be able to do. Not if I even had happy pain free meds to help me out. The fighter grinned the lopsided grin and said, "That attack…is memorized!"

"Poison Peach Boy's still standing!! Looks like he can back up his boasts!" Koto announced as the audience went wild. Poison Peach Boy grabbed another dumpling and proceeded to power up once again. As his muscles and body multiplied in size, his aura began swirling throughout the air. It irritated my nose and a small headache began to form in the back of my head. Poison Peach Boy took the shape of his next demon armor and Juri took a step back in worry. She clearly didn't like being so close to something that looked as wild and beast-like as Poison Peach Boy did.

"You'll have to try something else! Beast Armor Two – Demon Avian Pelt!"

"Second transformation for Poison Beach Boy! His aura level and appearance are off the charts!!" Koto shouted as I looked over the newest transformation. The only thing I had on my mind was a smartass comment…and that was something like, "Heyah Spiky, I wonder what you're like at a balloon party." So, I shut my mouth and just watched the fight unfold.

Poison Peach Boy leapt into the air and crashed down on Hiei with a vicious hit to the face. Hiei was sent spinning for only half a second before bouncing right back up and dashing to the side while spitting blood from his mouth. Our favorite pyro then began bouncing from spot-to-spot to keep Poison Peach Boy on his toes. The smaller fighter was moving so fast that his opponent wasn't able to see him and Hiei then quickly appeared before him to lay multiple rapid punches into Poison Peach Boy's gut. Once he had finished, Hiei stepped back expecting to see Poison Peach Boy hunched over in pain, but instead saw him leering down as though nothing happened. Hiei was completely astonished and gasped in realization, "He is getting tougher."

Poison Peach Boy made to attack Hiei's head, but the fighter quickly jumped to the side to prepare for yet another attack he was about to launch. Yet, Poison Peach Boy suddenly disappeared from in front of him and I barely caught sight of him reappearing behind Hiei. I stepped forward in surprise and shouted, "Look out!"

"Huh?!" Hiei stated in surprise. He didn't even have the chance to turn around before Poison Peach Boy soccer kicked him to the side. Hiei was quick to recover and they stopped at a standoff. Hiei was clearly the weaker of the two at the current moment in time and Poison Peach Boy couldn't let the situation go without saying something to assert his power.

"Hah! I beat you in speed and power now!"

"So it seems," Hiei replied placing his hand on his knee to steady himself. He was calm and didn't look as though it was anything to be too worried about. This of course was because he had a hidden technique up his sleeve and was just about to put it into action. Still, if I hadn't known what was going on, I would've been a little concerned for his safety. It wasn't like Hiei couldn't take care of himself, but it bothered me that he was getting beat and clearly by someone who knew how to use the situation around him to his advantage. It wasn't that he wasn't superior to Hiei by any means, but he would adapt and then react, which was rather intelligent for the demons of this tournament. Hiei straightened up and began to realize that he had to pull out the last attack he didn't want to. The reason behind that though, still made me chuckle.

"Heh heh…Guess you're stumped, huh? But I won't take chances. I'll seal your defeat!!" Poison Peach Boy said reaching for yet another dumpling of his. I balled my fists in anger and my knuckles popped under the pressure. Kuwabara looked over at me for a moment and then noticed the look on my face. He put a reassuring hand on my shoulder and smiled.

"He'll get through this. Hiei's a real pain in the ass sometimes, but he always manages to pull through at the last minute," Kuwabara said trying to make me feel better. I turned to look at his face and saw nothing, but an almost brotherly kindness in his eyes. It was a refreshing sentiment for me and I felt myself calming down.

"He's a lot like you in that aspect. Thanks, Kuwabara," I smiled and put my hand on his in gratitude for the reassuring thought.

"Time to enjoy the ultimate snack!" Poison Peach Boy said as he consumed the other dumpling and began to power up once again. As annoying as it was to watch him continually buff himself out I began to wonder something. What would've happened if someone had come close to him and attack right when he had crushed the dumpling? Would he still be able to power up or would it have had no effect whatsoever on either of the two?

"Mreow! Another dramatic transformation! Hiei's got himself in a deep ditch now!" Koto shouted into the microphone as her ears began twitching in excitement. She was on the edge of her seat and I could her tail whipping from side-to-side just waiting for more action. I wondered how much this female could take without stroking out from pure excitement.

"Demon Canine Pelt!"

"That's a freaking wolf on steroids!" I shouted in amazement as I looked over the latest transformation. He had definitely muscled out and not in an attractive way. He was muscled to the point of scary and to the point that made me want to run the other way in fear. Back home if any guy looked like that and I met them on the street, I would've run to the other side in fear of getting my wimpy ass destroyed on the spot. And if the muscles didn't do that the freaking teeth did. They were jagged looking and about as long as my fist was. The ears that were sticking out of his hair also looked rather unnatural and his claws just made me shiver as I remember my fight with Tenchi. I put my hand on my stomach and couldn't decide which would've been worse to be stabbed with, something with a clean cut like Tenchi's blades or something not nearly as sharp, but jagged as Poison Peach Boy's claws. The mere thought made my stomach ache in pain all over again.

"Harf harf…I'm now your worst nightmare! You've got a powerful aura kid, but that won't protect you from these fangs and claws!" Poison Peach Boy said as he flexed his hands…or claws in front of him. Hiei glanced down at his broken sword and gave a very small, almost inaudible sigh as he leaned down to pick up the hilt.

"I was hoping to avoid doing this…" Hiei answered looking thoroughly annoyed with himself. I laughed and shook my head. He was so childish sometimes. Of course, so was the rest of the group, myself included. I guess that's what made it fun for all of us to hang out around one antoher.

"Heh…don't go trying any mind games. You saying you have an ace in the hole? I don't think so!" Poison Peach Boy laughed at Hiei like he was a child trying to outsmart someone older than him.

"No…no ace, just a move…I really don't like to use," said looking as though he was completely bored with the battle.

"Shee…what could make Hiei hesitate?! Must be fierce whatever it is!" Kuwabara said sounding a little frightened of what was going to happen. I laughed harder and put my hand on his back shaking my head.

"Fierce isn't the word I would use," I said causing him to look at me funny. I merely shook my head and pointed back at the fight saying, "Just watch and you'll see what I mean."

Poison Peach Boy disappeared from where he was standing and all we heard was, "I was hoping your last words would be just a bit more interesting!"

The fighter reappeared and took a savage bite out of Hiei's shoulder. Shock erupted around the stadium and I just turned my nose at the sight of Hiei's blood. It smelled weird to me and I just took a step back away from the ring. I definitely wasn't used to all the bloodshed of the demon world. For a few seconds everyone was silent at seeing Hiei just stay there in Poison Peach Boy's jaws without moving. Just then Hiei turned the tables…as always.

A flaming sword cut straight through Poison Peach Boy's middle and sent him flying to the ground after releasing Hiei's shoulder. Blood spurted out from Hiei's shoulder as his teeth released him and blood rained around the ring floor where Poison Peach Boy's body fell in two different pieces. I let out a single laugh and shook my head as Hiei said, "Blazing Sword of the Overlord."

"A flame sword?!" Kurama asked unable to believe what his friend had done. Out of everything that Hiei could've done, I doubt Kurama was expecting something along those lines. Even Kurama could still be surprised by his friend.

"Th-that looked like my aura sword…except mine's a candle, his is a blowtorch! …Uh… Hang on a sec! You didn't like using an ability that resembled mine?!" Kuwabara roared at Hiei and began to get extremely aggravated. He instantly connected everything that Hiei said before and why he would've preferred to have used a different method of fighting than what he did. I only laughed harder and Hiei looked over his shoulder with a condescending smirk.

"Heh! Got it in one!"

The crowd went absolutely freaking wild and Hiei made his way out of the ring, triumphant and cool, like he always is. He began to wrap a bandage over the bite wound and Kuwabara continued to steam over the fact that Hiei was always thinking down on him. I just smiled and watched the three of them interact for a moment before turning my attention over to where Ghost was standing. He seemed a little better from what he had done earlier and looked ready for the fight we were about to have. I took a deep breath and turned to face Shishiwakamaru as he held the dice in his hand. He looked ready for whatever else was going to come and seemed as anxious for more bloodshed as Koto did. Juri stepped up and said, "Poison Beach Boy's out of the fight!! Another win for Hiei!!"

"Hiei sliced Peach Boy wide open, folks! What a contender!" Koto announced as the whole stadium flipped out. I almost covered my ears from the roar and wished that Shishiwakamaru would just roll the damn dice so we could get this fight over and done with. I didn't want to go deaf from hearing a bunch of demons scream about death and blood. I'd rather go deaf from blasting way too loud music through my ears. After a few minutes of the result of the match sinking in on everyone around us, Hiei stepped forward and stared down Shishiwakamaru.

"Roll 'em again. Third time's a charm," Hiei said acting as though the wound on his shoulder was just a little scratch. I rolled my eyes and watched as Shishiwakamaru carelessly tossed them into the ring. He said nothing and just watched the dice fall to the ground.

Ghost and I made eye contact. We both nodded at the same time and waited for the dice to hit the ground once. A quiet ding echoed through the air as they bounced up once again and both Ghost and I said at the same time, "Roll me!"

The dice bounced across the ground one final time and suddenly stopped near the edge. They sides were completely blank as far as my eyes could tell. Suddenly, they shone bright gold and faintly called to Ghost and me. I took a deep breath and tore my eyes away from the dice to stare at Shishiwakamaru's face. I almost laughed. He was completely shocked and almost looked infuriated that his prior plan had been thwarted. He covered his shock quickly and turned to Ghost as he moved past him to take the ring. His eyes narrowed on the honorary fighter and growled a warning, "I don't know what you may have been told to do from any higher ups, but you better win this and trash that woman. Do you understand me?"

"I will do my best to win," was all that Ghost answered as he leapt from where he was standing and landed silently on the ring with an eerie sort of grace. He slowly walked to the center and stopped, patiently waiting for me to meet him in battle. I took a deep breath and began to walk up the stairs to enter the ring. It was then that a hand caught my wrist. I turned in surprise and Kuwabara was standing there with a serious look on his face. I cocked my head to the side curiously. What was wrong with him?

"Be careful, Rin. This guy gives me the creeps. Don't get blind sighted or caught off guard. He seems really powerful and we need you to get out of this match in one piece alright?" Kuwabara warned in concern. I smiled at him and patted his hand in appreciation.

"Thanks for worrying about me friend. Don't worry. I'll try not to get too beat up this time. Hopefully, he doesn't find it as much fun to leave physical wounds as his predecessors. I'll be back in one piece at the end of this," I said feeling stronger than I had since I unsealed the power within me that Hiei had stored. I turned around and bounced up the stairs feeling lighter than a feather. It meant a lot to me that Kuwabara cared so much about my well being and whatever happened in this battle didn't matter. I was going to make it out just fine if I had anything to say about.

"Alright folks! The honorary fighters have taken to the ring and are ready to put on one heck of a show for us all! The last matches have been one blood fest after another, so let's hope that this isn't any exception!" Koto called into the microphone with excitement lacing every word she spoke.

"Third match is Rin vs. Ghost! BEGIN!" Juri shouted waving her hand down before her like it was a flag. Both of us instantly shifted into fighting positions and stared at one another. There was nothing personal between us…and we knew it. To acknowledge the fact we both nodded at one another once again and whipped into furious action.

**-------------**

_**I decided I'm going to end this chapter a special way for Christmas. With a little bit of Christmas cheer. Our beloved Yu-Yu Hakusho characters are here and would love to say a few words. So, have a beautiful holiday my dear readers and I wish you the best of days. I hope to be updating more and let the characters have their say.**_

_**(By freak accident that would blow your mind if I told you, I was unable to post this on Christmas Day as I had planned. So, count this as my late Christmas Present to every person still reading. Thank you)**_

_**Yusuke**__**:**_ Hey everyone! It's that awesome time of year when we spend time with our families and think about the times that have passed. Sometimes the memories are good and sometimes…otherwise, but there's something we all look forward to. RUNNING TO THE TREE AND RIPPING OPEN THOSE PRESENTS! Have a great one everybody and leave a few Christmas wishes for the ones you love! (leans forward and whispers) I'd love some presents from any awesome fangirls out there!

_**Keiko:**_ (Slaps Yusuke then turns to readers) Merry Christmas everyone and if you don't celebrate this holiday we wish you the best of wishes and happiness with whatever you are doing at this time of the year. It's the time for us to be thankful for everything we have and have good wishes. Take care of yourselves this season and enjoy the holiday time.

_**Kuwabara:**_ Kuwabara here and I hope everyone has a great time with family, friends, and those important to you. Don't get greedy now and take everything for the thought and care behind it. It's a great time of year and don't forget to go outside when you get the chance to make the best of your down time!

_**Kurama:**_ Best of wishes to you and yours. Remember to think of others this holiday and be thankful for the people you have in your lives. Let people close to you know you care and cherish the time you have and are given. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas my friends. Have a happy New Year.

_**Hiei:**_ Hn. This time of year seems to be full of celebration for you humans and the weather isn't always in your favor. You've followed this story this far and it wouldn't be worth it if you were careless over the holidays. Keep your weakling selves safe and try not to do anything stupid. (Aw isn't that nice. Hiei's actually warming up to the reviewers…somewhat.)

_**Koenma:**_ Happy Holidays all and have a great one. Think about the people you have in your life now and the people that you may have lost. They always wish you well in the world beyond and want you to be safe and happy. We here in the Spirit World wish you a fantastic time and don't drink too many holiday concoctions. They don't always agree with you!

_**Botan:**_ Merry Christmas everyone and Happy New Year! Have a great time and be merry! To anyone else celebrating a different holiday I wish you well and hope your times are good whatever you do!

_**ALL CHARACTERS**_: Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

_**There are many other characters who wished to say some Christmas wishes, but these glory hogs said everything they wanted to say. Jin was pretty ecstatic about making some kickass snowball fights and Chu wanted to try some new recipe for Eggnog. Yikes! Anyway there were many holiday wishes I couldn't get to, but know they were all hoping everyone has a safe, fun, and meaningful holiday with those you care about. See ya later people!**_

_**Happy New Year!**_


	23. Control

_**ME:**_** Alright! There are people still reading this story after all. That's awesome! And I have to admit I still love looking at all the hits on this story. It makes me proud that I can write something that you all like to read. Hopefully, I haven't had too many people give up on me.**

_**Hiei:**_** Mind you, most of your story is already written out for you. You're merely following the already given storyline of Yu-Yu Hakusho. You just happen to be adding a few characters without changing the storyline too much. You change just enough to accommodate your character. Not to mention you haven't made Rin a Mary-sue, which oddly enough is a miracle for most writers. **

_**ME:**_** (eyetwitch) Hiei, you are by far one of my favorite characters in this story, but if you continue to bug me I will get the permission of the reviewers to make you pay for it. And considering how they all reacted with the ice cream incident I think they will be willing to help. So, just say the disclaimer and be done with it.**

_**Hiei:**_** Hn…Very well. She only owns her character and my severe distaste for her.**

_**ME:**_** Thank you very much. Alright, everyone. Here's the battle a few of you have been waiting for. Ghost and Rin go full out! Chapter start.**

**-------------**

_**Chapter 23: Control**_

"Third match is Rin vs. Ghost! BEGIN!" Juri shouted waving her hand down before her like it was a flag. Both of us instantly shifted into fighting positions and stared at one another. There was nothing personal between us…and we knew it. To acknowledge the fact we both nodded at one another once again and whipped into furious action.

I flipped the chakram off my hips as swiftly as my fingers could manage and quickly dove to the side as I saw Ghost move forward. It was amazing to watch him move. I couldn't even see him shift from the spot where he stood and it was more like a haunting glide than a walk from where he was to where I had been. Normally, I would've been terrified, but it was different to watch Ghost move. He moved unusually fast and his white outfit left a disturbing glow in the air behind him, but none of it had any malevolence in it. I doubt he even touched the ring as he brought his hand up to slash at where I was. Once again, I was forced to dodge. This time I flipped back and just as my back was parallel to the ring I felt air rush under my body as another presence moved beneath me. I turned my head slightly and saw Ghost hovering inches away from me as though he had done the same maneuver. My eyes widened. Damn the man was fast. I caught sight of his eyes below me and it made me lose all color in my face. He was emotionless. I couldn't even read a single thought that was going through his eyes. It was like looking…at a ghost.

"Whoa! The name Ghost clearly has point in this match folks!" Koto shouted as time seemed to slow. I glanced around and saw everything as though it had frozen in time, and I had stopped along with it. Kurama and Kuwabara were staring at me with worry etched into their expressions and Hiei's eyes had widened. Clearly he hadn't expected the speed that Ghost had displayed and frankly neither had I. Kuwabara was beginning to freak out about my well being with sweat pouring from each and every pore on his face and I could tell Kurama was trying to figure out some way that I could possibly win the fight without having to nearly die in the process. Then my eyes ran over the audience. Many demons were watching with grins of malice and some were as surprised as I was at the way Ghost could move. Apparently, not many of them were used to seeing demons moving like Hiei and Ghost usually did.

None of them were what I was trying to focus on however. It was the figure near the very top who caught my interest; a figure who was trying to be as unnoticeable as she could possibly be while still having a good view of the fight below her. Morte stood at the very top of the audience and this time was completely alone, which almost surprised me. A devious grin was plastered to her face and she was watching us very closely. It was easy to guess that nothing escaped her sharp eyes. She was calculating and she was waiting. During our match was supposed to be when she would get what she finally needed from me according to everything Ghost had told me. Ghost would completely take control and Morte would get what she needed to bend the Underworld to her will. Then I wouldn't be the most irritating obstacle standing in her way anymore.

"_Give me a reason to disobey my orders,"_ Ghost whispered quietly through my mind as I felt his hand slam into the small of my back. A power exploded across my skin and I was sent flying straight into the air…but surprisingly it didn't hurt. It actually felt as though I had been hit in the back with a pillow, but I imagined that it looked far worse than it truly was. I closed my eyes to fake the look of pain for the sake of everyone else watching, especially Morte, and listened as I allowed my body to limply fly through the air. A rush of air flew past me as Ghost suddenly flew next to my body in the middle of the air and slammed another attack into my stomach where I had been stabbed. This time I felt a small twinge of pain as though I had been poked where a severe bruise had been. I felt the power explode and sent me rocketing back toward the arena floor as the fighter continued, _"Morte recruited me from a mercenary post in the demon world. My comrades and I were highly regarded as the best in our specific division. As you can see my talents are special even among demons. I have the ability to make anyone see what I wish and this is how I take out my targets. They often don't even know what's happened until they die and pass on into the next world."_

I smacked into the arena floor and expected to feel the wind get knocked out of me. Instead, it was just like landing on something soft, like my bed back home. Nothing happened to me at all. I opened my eyes to see Ghost descending on me and I decided that it would be good to play a more convincing role in the fight. I spun to my feet and dove to the side trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do. I spun on the balls of my feet and positioned my chakram to throw them as soon as I could get Ghost in my line of sight. Ghost's fist met with the arena floor and created a decent sized crater. I swallowed, thankful that I hadn't been under that. He had a way of keeping me from getting injured when he wanted to, but if I fell out of that favor, he could easily attack me with the same strength he demonstrated on the ground. That would hurt and it wasn't something that I wanted to go through anytime soon. I liked my head to be as un-dented when I left the fight as it was when I entered the fight.

"_Morte called upon my power with a promise to the head of my division that we'd both be paid handsomely. She made good on the promise to him, but has been holding my payment over me until I finish the job. I have nothing personal against you Rin Ishida, but I do have a vendetta against my current employer. I do not appreciate being treated as a mindless drone that you can simply order to do your dirty work and not respect for the skills I bring to the table. It matters nothing to me now whether I get my payment or not. What does matter however is if you can prove to me that your life and being is worth just abandoning what I had been planning on for some time now."_ Ghost slowly stood from where he was and I launched my chakram at him in an attempt to make it look like I was trying to fight, but in reality I just wanted him to keep talking while giving the demons something to watch. Ghost knew this and played along, but in my opinion, I think he played along a little too well.

"_You want me to tell you why you shouldn't kill me and give Morte what she wants?" _I asked as Ghost reached out and flexed his fingers at my weapons. They froze in midair and slowly spun in midair almost like they were on display for a potential buyer. I stared at them with wide eyes and took a step forward to retrieve them as quickly as I could to get back to the fight. I walked forward exactly three feet when the chakram were sent spinning with a new force straight back at me. "Oh shit" was the only thing that went through my mind as I watched the glinting silver spin in the direction of my head. I leapt straight up into the air to dodge, but looked back to find that they had followed me. I let out a surprised yelp as I landed on my side from abandoning my dodge in mid-jump and scrambled to stand up. I then quickly raced toward Ghost with a loose plan forming in my mind. I could only hope that it would work the way I wanted it to, but I had my sincere doubts.

"_That is exactly what I wish for you to do. By the way, nice idea. Too bad it was predictable and exactly what I thought you would do,"_ Ghost smirked and sent the chakram flying straight into the air instead of chasing after me. I froze in the middle of a step and whipped my head up to watch the weapons spiral down from the top of the stadium. It took a moment for me to calculate where they would land, but once I had it didn't take me long to react…and that was because I would've been considered an idiot if I hadn't. After all, I liked my feet attached to my feet and not strewn about the ground before me.

"Shit!" I was sent clumsily back-stepping as the first chakram buried itself where my foot was and I then saw that the second was going to hit my back heel if I continued stepping back. I dove to the side once again and watched in awe as it buried itself into the ring three inches away from my nose instead. That was unnecessary, damn it!! I took a deep breath and glanced over at Ghost to see him smirking with amusement. Good to know I'm here for everyone's enjoyment! Sadistic bastards!! I slowly picked myself up and looked at Ghost in the eyes, those haunting and mysterious eyes that I just couldn't figure out. It frightened and intrigued me all at the same time. Who was this guy and why, why on this beautiful life filled earth, was he offering to toss away his payment and let me live? Why had HE been chosen to eliminate me in the first place? He seemed almost too unpredictable to trust in my opinion. Morte sure had taken a gamble with him…and sadly enough lost.

"Ghost seems to be overpowering Rin at every turn. She doesn't even seem to stand a chance. It's like watching candy being taken from a baby! Let's hope Ghost decides to get a little more vicious than what he's already showing us! This fight has the potential to get very bloody!!" Koto shouted as she bounced in excitement. Sheesh, what the hell did this girl do when she WASN'T announcing a blood filled tournament?

"Come on, Rin! Show this guy what you're all about! Beat him into the ground!" Kuwabara shouted as I dislodged my weapons from the ground and hooked them back on my hips. I placed my hand on my stomach as a dull ache began to return and I winced. Ghost hadn't done anything to it except that one attack, but it still hurt from the match with Tenchi. I glanced out of the corner of my eyes and saw Hiei watching with his hand balled into a tight fist. I couldn't tell for sure, but something told me that he wasn't alright with watching me get pounded into the ground…unless he was the one doing it. Maybe he was beginning to worry about me…or worry about his chance at flattening me into the earth on his own time.

"_I don't have any reason for you to spare my life. In truth, I'd be missed back home for sure and possibly missed here, but directly my life is of no importance on anyone else's. It's what you would be giving Morte that's the problem. This power you're supposed to extract from me and give to Morte could endanger the lives of many who don't deserve to die. It doesn't matter if I die and take the power with me, but don't kill me just to give the power to Morte. She'll use it for all the wrong things. That's all I ask. I don't want her hurting any more lives than she already has. I don't want her to kill the people I care about,"_ I answered as I swung my foot around and switched into a balanced position for a fight. Ghost took a moment to think it over and then looked back at me with his emotionless eyes meeting mine. How could he keep anything from showing on his face? He must've been one hell of a poker player. I could just imagine him sitting with his comrades during their downtime playing poker…and kicking their pathetic asses.

"_Very well. My choice has been made. Prepare yourself!"_ Ghost said shifting into a fighting stance that was similar to mine. It seemed to me like we were going to fight without any of our weapons and I felt my chakram weigh heavily on my hips. This wasn't going to go well and I wanted to bring my chakram out to fight so badly, but every single time I had tried he'd somehow turned them against me and had me running like a scared puppy. I offered one final glance at my weapons and then took a breath. I had a feeling this was going to be a very long battle and it would be one that would go until the death of one of us. That fact alone made my heart plummet. I didn't want to fight Ghost until the death…because I would so lose.

"Enough play. Let's get this fight really started. I'm not going down without a fight, Ghost," I said shivering slightly. He was faster than I and I was almost positive that he was stronger than I could hope to be. All I could do was hope that somehow I would be able to win, even if it was by sheer dumb luck. Yet, watching the way he moved and the fact that he had been a professional mercenary didn't give me a lot of hope. Maybe it would've been better if he hadn't told me his little life story before the battle. Then I could've had blissful ignorance to help my determination to win.

"Well everyone, it seems this fight is going to start out with Rin and Ghost fighting with fists! It sounds like this fight is just getting started," Juri announced as she leaned forward to watch us more carefully. She smiled and said, "Maybe it'll be more than just a one sided fight after all, and blood is almost guaranteed!"

"As you wish," was all Ghost said before launching himself forward in his haunting way of moving. I watched as he got closer to me and tried to figure out a weakness in his movements. I couldn't find one as he closed the gap between us and soon he was too close for comfort. I couldn't hesitate any longer. I brought my fist up to punch him square in the jaw, but he merely brushed it aside with one hand. His other hand came toward my head and I noticed a strange red aura around it. Not willing to chance what it was, I brought my demonic shield to my aid and stepped back to allow Ghost to crash right into it.

The sound of his power connecting with mine was like a crack of thunder echoing all through the stadium. An annoying ringing rumbled through my eardrums and I winced at the sound. My arms shook from the impact and Ghost's power sparked all around us. It was then I noticed something that caused me to sweat. There was so much power behind Ghost's attack that I found my feet sliding back against the ring floor. I dug my heels into the ground to stop from moving, but it was useless as Ghost continued pushing his power against mine. Soon my shield began to flicker. My eyes widened in shock and cracks started spreading throughout the shield before me. I tried to reinforce the power I was throwing into the shield, but it was like Ghost expected me to do as much. He threw twice the amount of demon energy into his attack than before and it easily overpowered my own. Soon, the shield shattered before me and my entire body recoiled back against the shock.

"Damn it," I growled watching as Ghost took another step closer to me and grabbed me by my throat. He lifted me clean off my feet and held me there for a moment as he just stared into my eyes, and of course, he did so without any emotion. The truly sad thing about it all was the fact that he was just toying with me. He was putting on a show and I couldn't tell if it was for the benefit of the demons watching us or if it was for Morte before he did away with me using whatever method he had pulled together.

"He moves faster than she's able to keep up with. I doubt anyone but Hiei would be able to effectively keep up with his movements," Kurama said sounding like I was in a really bad situation. Perhaps I was, but it didn't entirely seem like that even if he was just toying with my strength. Ghost was trying something…It seemed like he was trying to aggravate something…or get me to react in a certain manner, but I couldn't tell what he wanted me to do. I tried to move away from him in the middle of the air, but Ghost held me in place. His fingers around my throat were beginning to cause me to hyperventilate. Fear was setting in. I didn't want to die right in the middle of that arena at my age. There was so much I still wanted to do. What was Ghost going to decide to do?

"How can one little demoness really bring such terror to reality?" Ghost whispered quietly to himself as he looked over me. Then he brought back his free hand and I saw his demonic energy surging through his fingers. I swallowed against his hand and closed my eyes as he drew his hand back.

"This is gonna hurt like hell," I muttered and seconds later felt his hand meet my abdomen with such force that I was sent flying out of his hands. I could only imagine that it looked like I had been swatted back like a mere little fly. My body bounced against the ring floor and I skid for a few yards before sprawling to a stop near the edge of the ring. I was on my back and my head fell out of the ring to hang there. I opened my eyes to see that he had thrown me directly in front of my friends. I could see my comrades upside down from where my head was positioned. Kuwabara was flipping out in worry, Kurama was watching with a stunned looked on his face, and Hiei just stared at me carefully without any emotion. I only caught the slightest twitch from Hiei's balled fist.

"Rin is being tossed around like a mere ragdoll and doesn't seem to be able to do anything that can stand against Ghost! This fight already seems to be decided folks!" Koto announced causing irritation to shoot through me. I rolled myself over to my stomach and then noticed something wet against my shirt causing it to cling to my skin. I looked down in shock and saw a thin line of blood absorbing into my shirt. I placed my hand tightly against the skin and stared over my shoulder at Ghost. He stood there indifferently as I watched my blood drip from his fingertips and splatter on the ground.

_Kill. Kill._

Something began to snap within me. I blinked for a couple of seconds and felt fury bubbling in my chest. I pushed myself to my feet slowly and clenched my teeth in rising anger. Kuwabara's eyes went wide and Kurama watched me carefully. Hiei's eyes narrowed and he tried to push his consciousness into my mind to talk, but I abruptly put a barrier around my mind. I turned around and held my stomach as I began walking back toward Ghost. I cracked my neck as I went and took my hand away from my bleeding stomach. Ghost faced me as I stopped a few feet away from him and he wiped my blood from his hand on his white fighter's outfit. My blood made a horrible smear across his clothes and I almost felt bad that it would be a stain that would be nearly impossible to get out…almost.

"I suppose all of that had a purpose didn't it," I growled as the anger began to grow and there was a dull throbbing beginning in my right temple. I balled my bloody hand into a fist and stared at Ghost. I couldn't understand it, but something inside of me wanted to kill him. Something inside of me wanted to destroy him in front of all these demons in the bloodiest way possible and I already was beginning to have some creative ideas on how I would do it.

"You could say that," Ghost answered coolly. He crossed his arms and took a superior, condescending stare at me. The anger within me quickly worsened and what Ghost said next sent me over the edge, "I truly don't understand what power a weakling like you could possibly have that would help Morte get whatever she needs. You're useless."

_Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill._

"I'll show you useless!" I snapped in an enraged voice and lunged at him without feeling the injury to my stomach. Ghost quickly dodged to the side in his mysterious way as always, but I could see every movement and brought a fireball to each hand. My opponent's eyes widened as I twisted at the last possible second and buried the fireballs right in the middle of his chest as I grabbed his shirt. I spun on my heels and threw him across the ground to watch him skid over the ring. I pounced before he could get up and stomped my feet into his bare chest which sent him slamming on the ground. I made sure that I pushed my feet further into his chest when I jumped into the air and brought another fire attack to my hand and raised it over my head to throw it.

_Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill._

Something made me stop. Ghost was staring at me from the ground with strange eyes. It was almost like he couldn't believe what just happened. There were burns across his chest, but none of it seemed to bother him. Shock at my sudden vicious onslaught was the only thing that I saw in his deep red eyes. The flames faded from my fingertips as I hovered in midair for a moment and froze. What was I doing? Ghost hadn't done anything to deserve this anger. Where was it coming from? What was I channeling through my powers?

Suddenly, Ghost's arms moved in a flurry of movement so fast that I didn't see what he had done. Then a red aura shot through the air and slammed straight into my forehead. Blinding pain shot through my head and I couldn't stop myself from screaming out in pain. I wasn't even aware when I crashed into the ground and rolled up into a little ball. I could smell blood and felt the crimson liquid oozing down my face from my forehead. Involuntary twitches went through my body and I wasn't able to completely think straight. There was too much pain going through my head. It was worse than the migraines I was accustomed to getting back home that often wouldn't let me get out of bed. It was worse than anything I've felt before. AND THAT HURT LIKE HELL!!!

"Rin!" Kuwabara shouted sounding like he was watching his best friend die. It made me flinch and try to focus on reality enough to figure out what the hell had just happened. I didn't want to let my friends watch me get my ass kicked unmercifully.

"Rin is down! Starting the count!" Juri shouted into the microphone loudly causing my head to pound even more. Damn! Get up you idiot!

"Amazing folks! Rin had suddenly gotten a power surge and was able to slam Ghost around, but before she even got started on the carnage she stopped the attack! You never know what this girl is thinking! She waited too long and Ghost sent one hell of an attack into her head! I doubt she'll be getting up anytime soon! I'm sure I saw plenty of blood come from that attack! This fight just keeps getting better! Not to mention how Ghost looks without a shirt on! Mreow!" Koto shouted as a roar thundered from all of the demons. Go figure she was staring at the muscle this time instead of the blood all over the ring…of course that was probably because it was mine. By this time I had managed to roll myself onto all fours and opened my eyes.

Blood was pouring from a gash on my forehead and the wound on my stomach was still bleeding a decent amount itself. It got hard to focus on the arena around me and I had to strain my conscious mind to even hear the count that Juri had started. She was on seven. Shit! Without even considering it, I threw my hands against the ground and used the momentum to get to my feet. The movement rushed to my head and I staggered once I was standing on my own two feet. My sight focused in and out of reality. A wave of dizziness hit me, but I quickly brushed it aside and fixed Ghost with an icy glare as I hissed, _"You're triggering it! You're purposefully doing everything you can to make those episodes occur. Me losing it there was your doing!!"_

"_Just maybe,"_ Ghost answered with a small smirk. I brought my hand up to cover the gash on my head in an attempt to stop the flow of blood. There was too much however and the blood began pouring between my fingers and onto my hand. Oh, that was a lovely sight.

"_What the hell are you trying to do? That part of me isn't even something I can control. You push it and I might lose everything I am. I don't even understand it. All I know is that the "me" I've been having dreams about is not someone I want to be. So, you can shove this little plan up your ass, Ghost! I don't want anything to do with this!"_

"_Then you're putting your comrades in danger."_

That caused me to stop where I was. I was no hero. I didn't want to die, or go insane, or lose myself for anyone else, but at the same time I didn't want to be the one who destroyed their lives and screw up everything that I knew they were supposed to have. I didn't want to die…but I couldn't stand the fact that I would be the one who killed them. Whether it was me directly or Morte using this power I seemed to be carrying, but unable to use, I couldn't stand having anything to do with actually be the cause of any of their deaths.

"_Alright, you annoying bastard. I'll do what you want. Just make sure I can walk away after this happens,"_ I answered shifting into another fighting position and reached for my chakram. Ghost could kick my ass. Just because we weren't trying to kill each other didn't mean that I would let him throw me around like a ragdoll anymore. I wanted to at least pretend that I could fight back on my own.

"_I'm just going to restrain the power deeper inside of you, but in order to do that I'll have to bring the power out to its fullest. This power…from what I've heard is something that the Underworld wanted to hide and hide it so well that it would never be found. So, they hid it inside a family that would never be found by anyone that could do anything with it. The carriers could never possess the power because if it even mixed with them it would take absolute control over their body and wear them down until they died of exhaustion. Yet, Morte tracked you down. The plan failed, but it has been so long that even Koenma doesn't know it's you. If I seal it away within you during this match, not only will it set Morte back to square one, but it'll keep you safe from anything Koenma could do to you,"_ Ghost said looking at me as we began to spar once again. Ghost quickly attacked before I could unhook the chakram and instead we both moved around the ring punching and kicking at each other like we were an even match. What was even stranger was that…it all looked so elegant to me.

"Wow! Rin and Ghost go into a full out fight! With Ghost's unnatural grace and Rin's ability to bounce back after every attack, this doesn't even seem like a fight anymore!" Juri shouted as the audience began to watch in silence.

"Juri's right folks! This seems more like a dance than a fight! I dunno about you, but I want to see some blood!" Koto agreed as I caught sight of her tail twitching back and forth.

"_We're gonna have to make this more convincing,"_ I noticed as I spun away from Ghost. He slowed himself down and I landed one decent hit to his jaw. It sent him sprawling back across the ground and I noticed that he had a bit of blood pouring from the corner of his mouth. I jumped into the air, but Ghost leapt from where he was to meet me. Finally, it turned into a full out fight without blocks. I would land every punch I threw and it was the same for Ghost. We hit the ground with a crash and we continued our full out match.

"_So, are you ready for what you're going to have to do?"_ Ghost asked as he grabbed my shirt and threw me over his shoulder. I crashed onto the ground and flipped over to stand on my feet. I was a little shaky from the hit to the head, but otherwise I was managing.

"_I might as well. Let me guess," _I remembered the dreams I had and figured out what the message was. Those dreams only started when the power seemed to unlock itself within me. It talked about me giving up my humanity. Then Genkai said the same thing about me being able to control the lightning within me. My humanity couldn't take the power, but if I was able to suppress it long enough to use the lightning I would be able to master it. Suppressing my humanity for any amount of time would surely trigger the power, at least enough for Ghost to do something about. If he didn't…I wasn't sure what would happen next. I took a deep breath and said, _"I'll have to try and get my lightning to work won't I?"_

"_As long as it triggers the episodes it doesn't matter. If you can't do it…"_ Ghost trailed off and smirked at me. This unspoken threat was clear and I hear the rest of it go through my mind even though he hadn't spoken it, _"I can always trigger it for you."_

"_Oh hell no. Whatever you do will hurt like hell. I'll do it," _I replied as I stood up. I balled my fists in annoyance and said, "Enough of this play. I'm taking this up and notch."

"_What are you going to do? It seems it would be better for you to forfeit this match and allow yourself time to recover,"_ Hiei said with a hint of warning in his voice. I glanced back at him and instantly realized that he must've seen the episode for what it truly was. The others thought I had merely lost my temper, but Hiei saw that I had lost complete control. The Jagan user was quicker at seeing things than I originally thought.

"_Hiei, shut up and stay out of this,"_ I answered calmly and pushed him out of my mind. I took a deep breath and looked at Ghost whispering quietly to myself, "I hope you know what you're doing."

I crouched on the ground and began to call forth my lightning. Crackling echoed around me and sparks began appearing at random on the ground by my feet. My arm began to hurt from the lightning, but I quickly felt something within my chest began to twitch. It was my demonic nature and human nature fighting one another. Instinctively, the demon part of me wanted to overpower the human part and quickly finish off the opponent in front of me in the most brutal way possible. My human side wanted to win the fight, but not at the cost of my opponent's life. They were complete opposites with only one shared wish. They wanted to win.

I knew exactly what I would have to do. Even if Ghost was somewhat alright by me, I couldn't let my feelings get in the way. I had to be willing to throw all the human sentiments away and kill him without thinking about it. So, that's what I did. I pushed away all the human thoughts running through my head and just focused on my demonic urges. I focused on the thoughts telling me how to destroy Ghost.

"You have no idea what you've gone up against," a voice said with a demonic growl. It took a moment, but I quickly realized that it was me. I had once again lost all control of my body and was stuck as the battle before me unfolded further. I straightened up and made lightning spark all around my body in a very showy fashion. A devious smirk curled the right side of my mouth and I flexed my fingers in and out to get ready to attack. I cocked my head to the side in a demented kind of way and looked over my hand for a moment to say, "But, I think I should do something a little more surprising to get on with this fight. What do you think, Ghost?"

He didn't answer and instead lunged at me as fast as he could possibly move. The fighter knew that I had gone deep into another episode and didn't bother trying to converse with me. He just wanted to seal the power and be done with it. Yet, this time when he moved I could see it all perfectly. It was like he was just walking up to me rather than dashing. I carelessly called a ball of lightning to my hand and waited for him to be within arm's reach and casually backhanded him like it was nothing. Ghost was sent sprawling across the ground due to the electric shock and his body convulsed on the ring floor for a few seconds. He didn't look like he was going to be getting up to soon, but I knew that this wasn't the end of the battle.

"G-Ghost is down! S-starting the count!" Juri announced, sounding absolutely terrified about what just happened.

"WOW! Rin completely turned the tables! She was getting destroyed and then suddenly turned around to slam Ghost into the ground! This fight is absolutely amazing!" Koto shouted as I began to walk around Ghost's body. I knew he wasn't down yet and would jump up before the end of the count. I struggled to regain control over my own movements, but a shock of electricity sent me back. This was insane! My own body and powers were refusing to obey me! What the hell was going on?!?!

Just as I had anticipated, Ghost suddenly shot up from the ground and punched me in the jaw without even giving me the chance to react. I stumbled back a couple of steps and held my mouth to stop the sudden sting of pain. Ghost attempted to land another attack while my guard was down, but I jumped back with a grace that wasn't my own and landed a safe distance away from him. My body began walking around the outer rim of the arena and a strange sensation came over me. It was like my power was being separated into two halves. I felt the powers moving into my hands and the yin-and-yang signs appeared on my hands once again. Though I didn't show any outside emotion, I was in complete shock. How could this happen? Why couldn't I be able to have this power on my own?! And why the hell did people continually posses me and take over my power?!

"I hope you can handle this, Ghost. It's something I'd like to call the Yin-Yang Split. Not very original, I know, but it gets the job done effectively. Truth is, it's never been done with this specific host, but who knows. It could be very surprising," the power possessing my body said with a smug tone. I watched helplessly as Ghost's eyes widened in shock and suddenly the two powers completely separated from one another. A swirl of white and black aura spiraled around me and then suddenly broke off into separate parts with my powers. Half still stayed with me, but the other half made a perfect doppelganger that even I couldn't tell was different from me. The only way anyone could tell was the Yin-and-Yang marks on our hands. We both turned to Ghost and said at the same time, "You ready?"

"No way in hell," Ghost answered standing completely still before us. The doppelganger and I tensed in preparation, but Ghost didn't even give us time to react. He had already moved over to where Juri was standing. He looked at her in the eyes and said, "My apologies, but you would be safer out there!"

The fighter gently pushed the female announcer out of the ring. I watched in awe as she bounced on the ground and Ghost suddenly spun to face me as his hand flew through a jumble of hand-signs. It was difficult for me to catch sight of them all, but my battle instincts told me that it wouldn't be wise to allow him to finish the sequence. The doppelganger and I lunged forward on different sides to attack him and Ghost was forced to abandon what he was doing. The doppelganger got to him first and began throwing furious punches into his gut. Ghost had managed to evade most of them with ease, but I came up behind him and soccer kicked him in the side of the neck. The white-haired fighter was sent soaring through the air and both of us dashed right after him.

"Just for the record, I don't appreciate what just happened in there!" Juri called into the microphone and began to say something else, but was over-shouted by Koto nearly screaming into her own microphone from pure anticipation.

"This is amazing! Not only has Rin split her powers in two, but she completely changed the whole entire battle! There's blood in the air!" Koto announced as the stadium began to roar in excitement. My fighting instincts sung inside of my body and I sneered as I began to fight Ghost once again.

"_You're putting on quite a show down there,"_ Morte said in a very quiet voice. I stopped attacking Ghost while the doppelganger continued and I stared up to see Morte still standing where she was before. Her eyes were nearly popping out of her head. Worry was etched deep into her face. She apparently didn't like what she was seeing before her.

"_Die, you poisonous bitch,"_ I answered before turning back to Ghost. The doppelganger was sent flying back at me and I was forced to catch her in my arms. My eyes instantly focused on Ghost and I cursed when I saw him finish the final hand-sign in his previous sequence. My doppelganger and I straightened up and watched a dome form over us from the edge of the ring to completely cover us. It was completely grey and no one could see in or out. It was just Ghost, the doppelganger, and me.

"This will be the end of this match, as long as I have something to say about it," Ghost said snapping his fingers at me. An explosion occurred and I was forced to look away from the initial part of the blast. Upon my eyes refocusing, I saw nothing but a thick mist before me. Even the doppelganger had disappeared. This wasn't good. I spun around on the spot and began sensing for Ghost in an attempt to cut this attack short. It was useless though and I was stuck standing there in confusion until I heard a new sound enter the arena. The doppelganger grunted and suddenly all of my power returned to my body. The doppelganger just got demolished and without even getting a chance to fight back.

"He dispatched the doppelganger fairly quickly. He must know that I had to halve my power in order to do that. He's quicker than I thought he was," the power possessing me said in an impressed tone. Ghost didn't make any other sounds and it was impossible to pick up any sign of him in the mist that he'd called forth. No wonder his name was Ghost. If he didn't want you to find him, you weren't going to.

"Restriction Seal!" Ghost whispered all around me causing me to jump. That didn't sound good at all by any means. My body tried to move but suddenly was frozen in place. My legs spread apart on the ground and my arms went straight out at my sides. Struggling was useless and there was no way of pushing against the powers that bound me in place. Ghost had me.

"What do you plan on doing? You've made me your captive audience," I growled trying on final time to struggle against the binds, but it was a futile attempt. Instead, I just stared ahead of me and saw Ghost slowly appearing out of the mist to stand a few feet in front of me.

"Well, at least I caught the real you this time. I can't waste this much energy or I might put myself out of action. Anyway, I'm doing what I promised I would at the beginning of the battle. I'm sealing the power away deep inside of you," Ghost said calmly as he brought his hands in front of him. My eyes narrowed on him and the look on my face was one full of pure hate. I felt horrible that I was treating him so bad, and I could only hope that Ghost knew it wasn't anything I was doing on purpose.

"And if it damages me?" I asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I cannot say what will happen to you, but Rin will be completely unharmed. The only side effect she will feel is exhaustion and that's because you've been treating her form so carelessly. Whatever you are, be a power source taking conscious form or a being locked within a carrier of power, it will be a blessing for Rin to lock you away where you came from," Ghost answered as he began to go through yet another hand sequence. Though outside my body was tense and trying to go against the binds, inside I was trembling with relief. Thank God, Ghost knew more than even I did. Usually this would've made me angry or very annoyed, but I couldn't do anything this time and he could. Therefore, it was all good for me!

"Bring it! You may very well kill yourself in the process!" I snapped not even bother to fight anymore. It was useless to fight against someone stronger and no matter what I said in hate, Ghost knew better than to let it concern him.

"Seven Point Restriction! This is the end!" Ghost answered finishing the sequence. Suddenly seven dark bands erupted into existence before me. My eyes widened as they moved forward and flew onto my body. A band hit my right ankle, my left ankle, my waist, my right wrist, my left wrist, my throat and then finally my forehead. Instantly a warm sensation came over the bands and I screamed as it felt like my body was being ripped apart from the inside. Then the force controlling me disappeared and I felt it completely disappear inside of me. Instantly the urge to pass-out overwhelmed me. My knees buckled underneath me and the power that held me in the air faded away. I was going to crash onto the ground face first, but Ghost quickly wrapped his arm around my back and held me on my feet. I felt the urge slowly pass and I looked up at Ghost gratefully.

"T-thanks," I whispered quietly because I couldn't bring any energy to my voice to sound any louder. It was then I noticed that Ghost didn't look so well himself. His face looked strained and it didn't seem like he was giving off any demonic energy himself. He seemed fragile. It was hard to see him look almost…defenseless. That seemed entirely out of place.

"No problem. I just wasted too much of my energy. Neither of us can finish this fight," Ghost answered quietly as he slowly helped me down to sit on my knees. Once he was sure I would collapse or black out on him, he moved away and knelt on the ground directly in front of me with his fist on the ground to steady himself. The mist was fading and I saw that the dome around us was beginning to slowly fall. I leaned forward on my arms and saw Ghost smirk slightly. I was confused and was about to ask him what he thought was amusing when he said, "When I signed up for this job, I did so without even thinking about it. I just knew I'd have to kill you and then leave the tournament like nothing ever happened. It doesn't matter to me whether I kill a man, woman, demon, or human. I take the job, finish it, and then retrieve my payment. Then I met you. You're so lost and have no clue as to what's going on around you, but you struggle to keep them safe. The camaraderie you all have is amazing. There's something that stopped me from even thinking about killing you. It's just funny…none of my other targets have ever had a personality that appealed to me."

"Lucky for me then…it kept me alive after all," I answered with a smile in return. Ghost and I looked at each other for a moment and the mist finally disappeared as the last of the dome faded away. Then I began to snicker. Ghost chuckled and just as we became visible to the audience, we both began laughing hysterically at one another. There was silence all around us and I heard Juri scramble into the ring to look us over.

"Each fighter is technically down and injured. Starting the count!" the demoness said to the quiet audience and raised her hand as she counted.

"This is amazing folks! At first Ghost was dominating the fight and beating Rin around like a rag doll. Then she suddenly got a power up and started to beat Ghost into the ring. Finally, Ghost surrounded the ring with a dome and they proceeded to duke it out to the point where they used almost all of their energy! Now, we can finally see them and they both are on the ground laughing. I can't tell if this fight has been a good one or not!" Koto shouted over Juri counting her way to ten. I felt blood still oozing out of the wounds on my stomach and head and felt soreness creeping through every limb. I flinched slightly and Ghost looked at me apologetically.

"_I didn't mean to hurt you that badly. I was just trying to trigger the episodes," _Ghost said sitting back on the ground to relax. Funnily enough…he didn't exactly look apologetic…In fact he seemed amused. Bastard.

"_Yeah, I know. That's the only reason why I'm not complaining," _I said laughing.

"Ten! This match will be decided with the next fighter who stands up!" Juri shouted.

"Actually, this fight is already decided," Ghost said holding up his left hand in defeat. He smiled at me and said. "I forfeit the match. I can't fight anymore and I doubt Rin can fight anymore either, but I also doubt her female pride and determination are going to let her forfeit the match. So, I give up."

"Uh…alright. The winner of the third match is Rin!" Juri said sounded absolutely shocked. The entire stadium went mad and I flinched at the volume of the sound. Ghost likewise looked annoyed and slowly stood. He walked over and helped me to my feet.

"Don't bother coming over here, you pathetic excuse for a demon!" Shishiwakamaru shouted over the noise at Ghost. The fighter turned to look at his ex-comrade and I saw that Shishiwakamaru looked pissed. I almost laughed as the fighter pointed at Ghost shouting, "You don't have any right to be over here as part of this team. Go join those losers on the other side!"

"Gladly," Ghost answered emotionlessly as he turned around and helped me walk out of the ring. I felt bad that he had been disrespected so publically, but my friends didn't stand by and just let it slide.

"Hey, at least we're the losers kicking your sorry asses! Ghost would be better over here anyway! At least he would be considered a true honorary fighter on this team!" Kuwabara called at Shishiwakamaru tauntingly.

"His talents would be better suited among fighter who can at least stand to his own fighting standards," Kurama agreed with a calm tone. Shishiwakamaru looked absolutely angry, but figured it would be better to let it go. We left the ring without saying anything else and Ghost helped me walk over to my group. Kuwabara stood in front of him and gently pulled me away from the fighter to stand protectively in front of me.

"Kuwabara-" I began to say, but Ghost held his hand up to stop me.

"Whatever problems you may have had with Rin are null and void. Got that?" Kuwabara said in an attempt to sound threatening to Ghost. I couldn't help, but feel a little happy that Kuwabara felt the need to protect me. It made me feel a little better about the friend relationship.

"I have no personal vendetta against Rin, but I understand your concerns. Nothing shall happen to her that I cause. You have my word," Ghost answered bowing his head respectively at Kuwabara and then the other two of our group.

"Relax, Kuwabara. I'm sure Ghost wouldn't even have helped her to her feet if he wanted to harm her further," Kurama said placing his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Besides, you frizzy haired baka, she can clearly take better care of herself than you can and proved so by landing the hits she did. Worry about yourself, because you clearly need the attention to keep yourself alive more than she does!" Hiei sneered causing an anime vein to appear on Kuwabara's forehead. I stepped away as he turned snap at Hiei and both Kurama and Ghost steadied my arms to keep me from falling. I smiled at them and Ghost and I moved over to the wall to sit down and relax.

Hiei and Kuwabara finished their spat and Juri was conversing with Shishiwakamaru to be sure that Ghost was kicked from the team. Once the fighter confirmed it she jumped out of the ring and ran over to Koto to see how she should proceed with the match. This gave Hiei a moment to turn on me. He looked over me for a moment and then said, _"Whatever happened just then wasn't a normal power up. You were possessed."_

"_You could tell, huh? Well…let's just say those little voices in my head that were telling me to kill you all were caused by this power deep inside of me that I'm meant to carry and never let anyone use. It was coming loose and the power was beginning to take over me. Ghost was specifically called by Morte to possess my body so she could extract the power source. Ghost instead sealed it deeper inside of me to set her back to square one,"_ I replied rubbing the back of my neck in embarrassment. It was sad that I had to have some kind of power within me, but I was unable to actually do something about it. I was like the damn damsel in distress or the princess you always have to save in the games. I had something that I couldn't actually do anything about or use to be helpful in any way, but had to be protected and saved because if the power or something was put in the wrong hands it would be disastrous. Go fricking figure.

It was then that I felt the smothering feeling of a Jagan being used against me overwhelm my entire body. I was completely slammed against the wall by the sheer force of the blow and closed my eyes as I felt like I was being smothered to death. I was too weak to even fight against it. Normally, I would've at least been able to breath, but this time it felt like the whole weight of the ring was slowly being pushed down on my lungs. I was positive that it was Morte going in for the kill blow to get rid of me since Ghost hadn't.

And then it stopped.

It took a moment for me recover and once I had I opened my eyes to realize that it was Hiei that used the Jagan on me. I looked at him in confusion and felt annoyance rising in my chest. What the hell was that for?! Not only had I wasted most of my energy in the fight, but he knew that I was waiting for Morte to kill me since my power was useless to her. Was he just trying to freak me out or what?!

"_I located all of the seals that Ghost set on you. I then reinforced them once again. They shouldn't weaken anytime soon,"_ Hiei said emotionlessly as he turned around and then looked back at Juri who was climbing back into the ring. I smiled in thanks at Hiei and felt better. Ok, so he wasn't the jackass I thought he was. I sensed Hiei smirk and I mouthed "Thank You" to him.

"Alright everyone. It has been decided that since the honorary fighters have already fought and a result has happened, it is ok for Ghost to abandon his team and permanently exit the tournament. He may no longer compete in further matches and cannot be considered an alternate for Team Urameshi. These battles will continue as usual! The fourth match will be decided by another roll of Shishiwakamaru's dice! Let these bloodbaths continue!" Juri said into the microphone as the demons roared in agreement. I was able to catch many of them shouting for a new match and not one of them seemed to give a damn that Ghost had basically dropped out. I laughed and shook my head.

"These bastards have a one track mind," I muttered causing my comrades to make a sound of agreement with me.

"Just wait until Urameshi gets back. These guys won't have anything to complain about then. Until then, I'm sure the shrimp can satisfy their bloodlust," Kuwabara said glancing over me for a moment to make sure I wasn't going to pass-out on them.

"Yes and until then, I'll do a majority of the fighting while you sit back and try not to die of your own stupidity," Hiei shot while throwing an almost hateful glance at Kuwabara.

"And how would I do that, shorty?!" Kuwabara snapped as he turned on Hiei and stood toe-to-toe with him. Ghost looked at Kurama and I inquiringly and we both shrugged as though it wasn't any big deal. I rolled my eyes and just turned to watch to see if anything interesting or somewhat funny would be said this time around.

"How should I know? Your human stupidity is something I can't even fathom because of its pure absurdity! Demons don't bother with sentiments like you do and it proves to give them more power. At least we stay at the top of the food chain while humans become easy prey!" Hiei fumed at Kuwabara.

"Ok, you two need to drop it now. The annoying jackass over there is about to throw the dice again," I said pointing over at Shishiwakamaru. The fighting instantly stopped and all of us focused our attention on them. Kurama and Hiei were hoping for their turn to be rolled and Kuwabara was begging with everything he had to have the last match. I watched their faces very closely and it almost looked like Hiei and Kurama were trying to make the dice roll their name. Kuwabara on the other hand was sweating like crazy and I saw in his eyes how badly he didn't want the dice to roll his name. Shishiwakamaru tossed them into the air and they bounced across the ground. I yawned in annoyance and relaxed because I already knew what the outcome was. The dice landed and all I heard was Hiei spitting his reply in annoyance.

Kurama and Reverse Urashima stepped into the ring.

"Fourth match is Kurama vs. Reverse Urashima!" Juri shouted as the fighters stood in the ring and looked over one another. If I hadn't known better I would've thought that Kurama would've been able to take his opponent down without even trying. Reverse Urashima was small and didn't even look like he was worth looking at. Kurama on the other hand was not only taller than him, but clearly appeared to be so much stronger than him it would be like watching him beat a child. It was almost scary that such a small opponent would have to bring out Yoko Kurama, but then again, it was way better that he be brought out now and not when it was a matter of life and death for all of us. I breathed a sigh of relief and got ready for the fight that was about to unfold.

**------------- **

_**ME:**_** Well, that's the twenty-third chapter. Wow, I can't believe there are so many already. I hope this story keeps getting as many readers as it usually does. I also hope that this little plot twist doesn't bother anyone.**

_**Hiei:**_** Hn. That was quite the plan you had for him wasn't it.**

_**ME:**_** Well, I seemed pretty good at creating characters that the readers hated. I wanted to see if I could do the same except make it a character that everyone liked to read about.**

_**Hiei:**_** We'll see if the readers approved…or if they'll hate your story now because you gave Rin such a power boost.**

_**ME:**_** It's not even a power boost. Rin doesn't get to keep the power. She's not allowed to have it. Just is a carrier for it. **

_**Hiei:**_** Whether it's good or not is for the readers to decide**

_**ME:**_** (pouts) Shut up Hiei! Well, it's the end of this chapter so please review everyone! I wanna hear what you have to say!**

**Again, Happy New Year everyone!**


	24. Enter the Fox Demon

_**ME:**_** Hello, my awesome readers! I decided that I should update this as a treat to all of my loyal readers (if I said "fans" Hiei, Yusuke, Jin, and maybe even Ghost would knock me upside the head for being an overconfident twit) and as celebration for me because I have finally acquired the last volume of Yu-Yu Hakusho manga! This makes my anime and manga collection complete! With all the amazingness I have! Mwahahaha!**

_**Hiei:**_** You should all be grateful that you don't have to hear this baka onna's incessant talking about how it was the last book on the shelf. I've attempted to silence her multiple times, but somehow she seems to break away and continue on. I have a feeling that Kurama has given her something to evade my powers. Or it was the help of you pesky reviewers that all seem to be against me. If it is indeed your doing, I shall track you all down and put you out of this world's misery.**

_**Ghost:**_** (holds his head gingerly as though he's experiencing a severe headache) I was unaware of how much a single girl could go on about a silly little book. This only makes my argument stronger for never having kids. Or if so, and I happen to be so unlucky as to have a girl, I shall seal her voice away at birth. Perhaps even train her to be a ruthless killer of others who see the need to "fangirl." It would be useful to have an extra sword at our disposal who could sneak into the enemy lines.**

_**Hiei:**_** Indeed.**

_**ME:**_** Hey! Both of you shut it or I'll make something happen to you that you'll never recover from even after five years of therapy!**

_**Hiei and Ghost:**_** (absolute silence)**

_**ME:**_** Yeah, that's what I thought. Anyway, I'm extremely happy with finally finishing my beloved collection and I would like to thank all of you fantastic readers and reviewers for the support you have given me and this story. I love writing it and reading what you all have to say. Hopefully you will continue to read and I update and hope this continues to be as popular later as it is now. DISCLAIMER!**

_**Ghost:**_** The authoress would like to point out that she doesn't own Yu-Yu Hakusho.**

_**Hiei:**_** All she owns is my severe distaste.**

_**ME:**_** Get a new saying Hiei. You've said that before. By the end of this chapter we'll be into the tenth volume of manga. There are only nineteen in the series. We're over halfway there with this story…maybe. Lol. Anyway, chapter start!**

_**Chapter 24: Enter the Fox Demon**_

"Fourth match is Kurama vs. Reverse Urashima!" Juri shouted as the fighters stood in the ring and looked over one another. If I hadn't known better I would've thought that Kurama would've been able to take his opponent down without even trying. Reverse Urashima was small and didn't even look like he was worth looking at. Kurama on the other hand was not only taller than him, but clearly appeared to be so much stronger than him it would be like watching him beat a child. It was almost scary that such a small opponent would have to bring out Yoko Kurama, but then again, it was way better that he be brought out now and not when it was a matter of life and death for all of us. I breathed a sigh of relief and got ready for the fight that was about to unfold.

"You know how this will end, do you not?" Ghost asked quietly as I brought my hand up to wipe away the blood still pouring from my forehead. It wasn't flowing nearly as freely as it was when we were in the ring, but it was still enough to annoy me as I could feel it constantly creeping slowly down my face. I glanced over at him for a second as I removed some of the blood from above my eye and then looked back at the arena. I decided that I might as well tell him the truth, seeing as I was going to have to tell the rest of them sometime soon anyway.

"Perhaps," I answered in an equally quiet voice and I glanced over to make sure Kuwabara couldn't hear anything that was said. The orange haired fighter was so deeply absorbed in the soon to be fight before him that he wasn't paying much more attention to me for the moment. It would take Ghost moving toward me to snap him out of his trance and then he would become like an overprotective brother making sure nothing would happen to me. I couldn't help but smile. At least it gave me more time think about how I would tell them about me and gauge their reactions.

"I would assist you with those wounds, but I did not count on needing such things. My powers tend to make it easy for me to win my matches without taking any damage. Though, I have noticed that Hiei always seems to have fresh bandages on his arms. Perhaps he could be of some assistance," Ghost said motioning with his head to the shorter swordsman. The edge of Hiei's eyebrows twitched for half a second and then he reached onto a hidden pocket of his pants (it was of course a normal pocket on the side, but I say hidden because I SO don't ever remember seeing it before) to produce a roll of bandages. The swordsman carelessly tossed them over to me and continued to watch the arena waiting for Juri to call the battle to start.

"Thanks," I said quietly and set to work on wrapping up the injury on my head before turning to the one on my stomach. I noticed that like Kurama, I seemed to have a target on my stomach and like Hiei, a target on my arm. What the hell was that about? I shook my head and smiled slightly in amusement. It was then that I heard Juri give her normal sign and I looked up to see Reverse Urashima and Kurama both brandish their whips…well sort of, considering Reverse Urashima's looked like a fishing pole with a line… My eyes narrowed on Reverse Urashima and I bit down on the corner of my lip. His eyes were halfway opened and he looked as though he wasn't going to be much a fight in the first place. There was a childish look to him that almost made me feel sorry for him…almost.

"Contestants are wielding similar weapons! This could turn into an exciting test of relative skill!" Koto shouted into her microphone as Juri moved out of the contestants' way. My eyes easily followed Kurama as he caught Reverse Urashima's first attack with his whip and then jumped into action. The fighters ran along the ring lashing their weapons at one another and clashing at every point. There was a sickly snapping and cracking sound each time the weapons met in the air and I watched the flashes light the sky. They were nothing but an insane flurry of movement across the ring. Koto sounded as though she was about to jump out of her seat as she announced, "What'd I tell ya?! Amazing!! There're real sparks flying between them!"

I watched closely and saw Reverse Urashima begin to spin his web. His attacks we deliberately slow and controlled. They only fell where he wished for them to and they never deviated from the original path. It was then I caught sight of what he was really doing. The whole time he had Kurama fighting along the ring he was making the thread from his weapon cross over itself and then burry deep into the ring. A dome of thread that looked like a spider-web as it covered the arena. The threads were thin and almost impossible to see unless you were looking closely at the battlefield. Kurama of course was unable to focus on the area around him as he calculated each and every attack to look as though it was a true battle and managed to keep his attention on Reverse Urashima's sob-story. I grit my teeth in aggravation. I despised it when people took advantage of those who listened to the troubles of the world.

"That annoying little bastard," I growled quietly. Ghost turned to me in curiosity and Hiei even gave me strange look out of the corner of his eyes. Knowing that I would have to now explain myself, I indicated to the ring and said, "Forget the fight for a minute and look at the arena from the ground up. Specifically, look along every edge and going up to form a dome-like force field. What do you see?"

"A web of thread!" Ghost gasped as the realization dawned on him.

"Kurama's being taken in by this fool's trap," Hiei noted calmly as he crossed his arms.

"Exactly. Kurama's probably the smartest one out of our team, but he's also the one who's the most trusting, next to Yusuke, oddly enough. He's a little more willing to believe the stories someone tells him and Reverse Urashima is a genius at spinning a tale that casts him in the victim's light. Kurama's nature is gonna get him hurt," I muttered in annoyance. I hated it when people took advantage of someone who had a genuinely good heart. It infuriated me back home when all my friends who were so nice and caring got walked on and I was always the one who stepped up and told them, or the person who did it, what respect had just been thrown down the drain. It usually made me the protector of those friends and I often took to being the shield for many vicious onslaughts from enemies. It was painful, but I always had it coming. Sometimes I wish I hadn't had done it in the first place, but I feel a moral obligation to those friends to tell them that I think they're being treated badly and shouldn't be. It was payment for me always sticking my nose in a place that it wasn't invited.

Nothing else was said as I caught sight of Reverse Urashima tripping in the ring. I moved my head quickly to see what was going to happen next and instantly regretted it. My vision turned black and my knees buckled underneath me. For a moment I wasn't sure what had happened and when I opened my eyes, I was shocked at what I saw. I was witnessing the fight between Reverse Urashima and Kurama from a different angle. Instead of watching it from the side of the ring where I had been standing just seconds ago, I was now standing _in_ the ring opposite of where Juri was standing. I watched as Kurama went to attack his opponent and Reverse Urashima jumped, slicing his rope through Kurama's arms and legs, effectively catching him off guard. The red-haired kitsune hit the ground with a thud and speckles of blood flew out around him. Reverse Urashima proceeded to laugh as the audience leaned even closer to the fight. I quickly took my chance to look at where I was standing before. I was shocked even further.

Kuwabara had caught what looked to be my body as I blacked out from blood loss and Hiei and Ghost turned around to see what had happened. I glanced down at myself and saw that I was transparent. What the hell was going on?! I let out a small sound of surprise and instantly Hiei's head turned to look at me. We locked eyes and I could feel myself beginning to freak out. Oh shit! Did I just die and not even realize it? Sensing that I was losing it, Hiei bent down and instant put his hand on my throat to check for a pulse. He used his Jagan-eye as he examined my body and then looked back to me saying,_ "Calm down, baka onna. You're not dead. You merely were unable to stay conscious for much longer and you were determined to see this battle. You forced your consciousness to see it while your body rested."_

"_Oh…ok…that makes sense…"_ I answered with a shaky voice. By the sound of his voice, Hiei had heard of others doing this before, so maybe it was somewhat normal who was as stubborn as I was and had some demonic or spirit energy to spare. I wasn't able to focus too deeply on what was happening though because Reverse Urashima spoke and drew everyone's attention back to him.

"Unbelievable! You actually fell for that!! Nice guys finish last, you moron. Don't you now that?!" Reverse Urashima laughed and pointed at Kurama as the injured fighter struggled to get himself on his feet. The demeanor of Reverse Urashima changed in mere seconds and he exuded a battle ready confidence that was mistakable for cockiness. In fact, he was flat out cocky. It was almost hard to believe that that the small fighter from before was the one standing before Kurama at that moment. The shorter fighter snapped his whip and said, "Smart, but a sucker for sob stories, I guess. Y'see pure evil NEVER has a change of heart."

"The Fractured Fairy Tales sure know how to spin a yarn!! We've just see Kurama wade into one of their traps!!" Koto shouted as her ears began twitching with excitement. She sounded less astounded at the fact of what happened before her and more thrilled that blood had finally been spilt in the battle. People used to say I was a sadistic bitch…I'm NOTHING compared to Koto! Of course it didn't stop there.

"And serves you right!" Reverse Urashima shouted as he dashed forward to attack again. Kurama regained his composure and jumped to his hands as he flipped out of the way from the attack. The red-head stepped back to the edge of the arena and then stopped when the thread cut straight through his clothes. Kurama's head whipped around in astonishment and saw what I had drawn to the others attention before. Reverse Urashima grinned in contempt at Kurama's reaction and said, "Ah…! Wondered when you'd see what I was up to. You're now penned in by my force field."

The crowd erupted in a roar of approving shouts and their bloodthirsty souls clashed against my own. Koto stood in her seat and leaned over the microphone shouting, "The ring's been webbed in by shimmering threads!"

"With the right tool, even I can make a force field like Luka's. You can't escape and now time for…" the smaller fighter smirked as he took his bag off of his back and reached into it. As he was pulling out his next means of attack a strange little thought came to my mind. What would happen to my soul while it was stuck in this dome? I glanced back to my body and wished that I had at least made it till the next fight before blacking out. That would've been relatively nice! I swallowed my uncertainty and looked back to Kurama as his opponent held his weapon before him saying, "…Reverse Magic Box! In the story I opened a box that instantly aged me, but this box does the opposite! To anyone but me, that is! I hate tall, handsome guys and this is how I get back at 'em!"

"_What a petty little bastard,"_ I muttered quietly causing Kurama to instantly glance over at me. I saw his eyes widen slightly at seeing me and I sweat-dropped. I nodded over to where my body was and said, _"My body couldn't stand another minute without rest, but I couldn't miss this. So, I somehow pushed my consciousness out of my body to see this."_

"_I see. Let's hope nothing that happens in this force field will harm you, Rin,"_ Kurama said as I saw concern flicker in his eyes. A warm sensation went through my chest. It was good to be reminded of the fact that they actually cared about what happened to me.

"_The only person I have to worry about harming me is your other side,"_ I answered quietly to myself. Kurama caught this of course, but didn't question me as his opponent began to speak again. The kitsune looked at the fighter with a calm, controlled, and almost bored look. That really amused me.

"By the way, what's with your name? I knew another Kurama who was the very personification of utter evil! You like to be mistaken for him or something?" Reverse Urashima asked staring at Kurama curiously. Kurama merely returned his look with a glare that sent chills down my spine. I took a step away from the action in fear and I could tell that the red-haired kitsune instantly understood what I had said before. He sent a reassuring wave of aura in my direction and glared in his opponent's direction. That made Reverse Urashima annoyed. "You have his glare…which always pissed me off. I'm gonna reduce you to an embryonic state!! Then squash you like a bug!!"

The top of the box came off and a smoke shot all around the ring and overtook everyone inside it. Juri screamed in fear and I was thrown back by the surge of energy draining Kurama's aura. I felt it before me. His very being was getting smaller and smaller as the smoke turned him into a younger version of himself. I saw Kurama's shadow shrink before my very eyes from the tall form he usually had to a younger and younger version with each passing second. Finally his shadow disappeared and his aura was completely gone. Then I felt something strange occurring within my own soul. It was as though my power, as little as it was, was being drained away as well. It was only to be expected, I suppose…but that didn't exactly make it comforting. I closed my eyes and begged for something good to happen for once.

"_You should've just allowed your soul to regain its strength. If I wasn't here you might've very well just died,"_ a cold voice said from directly behind me. I felt two hands with long nails rest on the shoulders of my soul and instantly wondered how that was possible considering I was just a mere soul…or consciousness…truth was that I didn't even know what the hell was going on. I would have to have someone explain this to me after it was all said and done. Then again, Kurama was one of the strongest demons around and I was sure he'd found a way to interact with beings like me before. I slowly glanced over my shoulder and saw a pair of golden eyes hovering directly behind me. Suddenly a jolt of energy shot through me as it enveloped the whole arena. I instantly felt rejuvenated and he then released me, to go around to stand in front of me. After standing a few feet in front of me, Kurama offered a small glance over his shoulder and I froze at his face. Kurama was not one who would harm me, or at least that's what I wanted to think, but staring into his cold, golden eyes was a little too much for me. I took a breath as he said, _"I've given you enough energy to return to your body when the force field goes down. Now, just stay back and watch the battle."_

I swallowed and nodded. He pulsed his power out around the ring and Reverse Urashima began flipping out. Kurama stepped behind his opponent and said, "I did not expect to ever again assume the form of the Demon Fox!"

Reverse Urashima began to sweat as he stared up and Kurama saying, "Oh gosh…oh golly gosh…y-you mean you really…are that nefarious fiend…the Demon Fox Kurama?!"

The little fighter looked like he was about to cry and the little kid version of Juri looked the exact same, except that, and I hated to admit this, she was a lot cuter. Kurama merely smirked coolly and replied, "One and the same, my friend. And you have incurred my wrath!!"

The smoke began to thin around us and I looked around. Stray beams of light were hitting the ground from directly above us and lighting everything around us. I focused my attention on Kurama as he began plotting ways to deal with his opponent. I moved closer to my body in an attempt to make a dash for it as soon as the force field was down, but all the while I kept my eyes focused on the fighters in front of me. It was then that I heard Koto's voice piercing through the air, "The smoke isn't clearing off! Juri! You're in there somewhere! What can you see?!"

Juri of course was unable to answer her as she stared at Kurama looming over Reverse Urashima and we all watched in awe as he pulled a seed from the back of his hair. A very small sprout began to grow out of the seed and leaves began to grow. Then in seconds, the shell of the seed shattered in his hand and in a whirl of fast paced movement the plant burst out around Kurama's extended arm. Its branches creaked as they moved and a strange aura began to hover around the plant. That was just freaking scary to see!!! Kurama looked chillingly at the smaller fighter and said, "Shall I let this man-eating plant devour you?"

"NO! Spare me please! I'll do whatever you ask!" the pathetic fighter cried as he spastically moved along the ground trying to get away from the Fox Demon.

"Then tell me this…What's the secret of this smoke?" Kurama asked in monotone as he reached his hand even closer to Reverse Urashima so that the plant was moving hungrily just above his head.

"Huh? I…I don't know! Shishiwakamaru gave it to me! Ask him!"

"I'm asking you. Now, talk. If you lie, I will know. And then…" Kurama spoke menacingly and let his threat hang in the air as he hovered directly over Reverse Urashima, ready to deliver the final blow. This caused Reverse Urashima to breakdown in fear.

"I…I'm not even Urashima! I was promised anything I wanted if we won!! And I'm not the only one! Evil Kintaro, Poison Peach Boy, they all-"

It was then that something shattered through the sound and I spun around to see Shishiwakamaru's sword crashing through the barrier. It sliced apart the threads and then hurtled straight toward Reverse Urashima. I watched in awe and flinched when the weapon went straight through his neck. The demon began to fall back, but I was unable to see much more because when I closed my eyes and opened them again, I had moved to a different location. I was in shock. Now, all that was around me was a forest as the sun was beginning to shine down on a world that had just recently been rained down on. Being a soul-consciousness being I wasn't able to feel it, but I could imagine what it was like.

"Can't an old woman have some time alone without a twit like you showing up every five seconds?" Genkai's voice came from behind me. I turned around and saw her leaning against the tree I had appeared in front of. Her face looked even older than before and I could sense that her power was a lot weaker than it was before. In her current state, I might've lasted longer in a sparring match than I ever did before. Her aura was smaller than usual and her eyes seemed duller. It was obvious that the power Genkai had was almost completely gone…and given to Yusuke. My eyes took in the sight before me, but my mind didn't want to believe it. It was difficult for my mind to comprehend the fact that I was seeing her slip away before me. The old woman looked me over and said, "You decided to appear in a very interesting form this time."

"Uh…yeah…well, I guess while my body was resting my mind had other things to do," I said watching her carefully. I moved to sit down near her and looked around saying, "It's getting close Genkai…and I feel like they all deserve to know what I know…What should I do?"

"This fight against you and Morte will be dangerous. You could die from it just as I soon will. Perhaps it is time you told them about your "gift," but when will you break this news to them?" Genkai asked quietly.

"Either way it goes, when Yusuke finds out he's gonna try to kill me when it happens. He seems me as an ally now…but he may see it differently when he finds out that I knew it was coming and didn't even try to stop you or tell him. Your death…is going to hurt them all," I whispered quietly as I looked at Genkai pleadingly.

"Yusuke's a hot-head. There's no dancing around that fact, but he won't try to kill you, Rin. I'm sure he will attempt to attack you, but he will see reason and allow you to stay among them without any resentment toward you. I'm sure it will work out better than you suppose. Perhaps you should tell everyone after this tournament match and then I will tell Yusuke myself. This way you'll have some defense," Genkai spoke with in a tired voice that made me feel horrible for placing my concern on her.

"A defense?" I asked tilting my head to the side.

"You'll find out soon enough, but don't concern yourself with it now. You should be recovering fairly soon and I will be heading to the stadium after that. My story is beginning to reach its end, and you still have a large part to play in this. Do what you can to keep that dimwit in line and don't forget the things you've been learning about yourself. These are things that will help you with your choices to come and you will be prepared for everything when the time comes," Genkai said looking at me with her old, weary eyes. I froze and looked into her eyes feeling completely shocked. Everything Genkai said to me hit me like a wave and I just felt as though I was going to emotionally burst. She had been like my own grandmother while I was in this world, except for the whole beating my ass into the ground part, and the mere thought of knowing she was going to die soon ripped my heart into pieces. Granted I knew that Koenma would bring her back, but still, she was going to die…and if there was one thing that scared me more than my arachnophobia and claustrophobia, it was my terrifying fear of death. I closed my eyes and was about to say something, but my soul suddenly felt weighed down and I knew I had moved back to my body. Instantly, soreness washed over my body and my head began throbbing. I groaned and gingerly rolled myself onto my side so I could sit up. A pair of hands helped me up and I looked up to see Kurama, Hiei, and Kuwabara standing in a circle looking at each other seriously.

"Nice of you to rejoin us," Ghost said quietly as he helped me up to sit. I looked over the three fighters and let out a small sigh. Being a damsel in distress was getting real old, real quick.

"The glorious game of rock, paper, scissors. What a dignified way to decide who's going to fight next," I said rolling my eyes slightly. The three glanced over at me for a moment and then deciding that I was alright turned back to their concentration. They raised their hands for the game and Ghost chuckled to himself.

"I have to say this group is far more interesting than my old group. It's rather entertaining," he said as he moved his white hair from his face.

"You'll never get bored of it, I'll tell you that much," I said as Kuwabara threw down paper while Kurama and Hiei threw down rock. Hiei's eyes instantly narrowed on Kuwabara and pointed at him accusingly as he said that Kuwabara's throw was slower than the other two. This little spat quickly worked itself out in a matter of minutes and Kuwabara took to the arena. The Shishiwakamaru groupies continued to call out to Kuwabara as "botch-face" and Shishiwakamaru stepped into the ring with his Terminal Hagoromo (the transparent sheet-looking thing) over his head. I rolled my eyes and coughed under my breath, "Fruity."

Kurama walked over to me and knelt down. I looked up at him and his dark-green eyes stared into mine seriously as he asked, "You didn't immediately return to your body after you left the ring. What happened to you?"

"I paid a visit to Genkai. Everything's alright," I said with a reassuring smile. I laughed and said, "Thanks for the energy save. It was really helpful."

"You just seem to always have something going wrong with you. I'm beginning to wonder if you're going to need one of us watching over you all the time to make sure you don't go and get into some life threatening danger," Kurama laughed as he stood and turned his attention to the ring.

"Frankly, it would be less trouble if we just allowed her to be taken away by any trouble and out of our sight," Hiei said with a contemptuous sneer. I sweat-dropped and sighed as I looked at the ground in exasperation. Why did he always want me to get hurt? Ghost gently tapped my shoulder and I glanced over at him. He pointed at Hiei as he spoke.

"Did you do something to aggravate him in the past?"

"You have no idea and that's not something I want to go over again," I laughed shaking my head at him. His dark eyes looked between me and Hiei for a moment and then deciding that it was better to listen to me, he turned his attention the fight about to commence and I did the same. Although, I sensed something within Ghost and out of the corner of my eyes, I saw him staring over Hiei very carefully…what was he planning?

"So, it's you and me…eh, Botch-face? This'll be quick," Shishiwakamaru said as he began to shift the Terminal Hagoromo over his shoulder with chilling eyes.

"I'm handsome enough for the likes of you, featherhead!" Kuwabara shouted tensing for the fight. Juri commenced the battle to begin and Kuwabara dashed into battle, shouting, "Prepare to filleted!"

I rolled my eyes and watched a Shishiwakamaru stepped to the side and then threw the transparent sheet over Kuwabara's head. In seconds, Kuwabara's form became distorted and I watched him thin out until he was no longer there. Shishiwakamaru merely flicked his weapon to his side as though it were nothing and left almost everyone in a stunned awe.

"Kuwabara…he's gone," Kurama stated quietly.

"Huh? Where'd he go? Is he…out of bounds? Do I start the count…?" Juri asked in complete confusion. She glanced over to Koto and the fox demoness shrugged.

"Save yourself the trouble. He's no longer here. Even I don't know where he's gone… but my Terminal Hagoromo does! The ends of the Earth, or another dimension…nowhere decent at any rate," Shishiwakamaru smirked as he glanced over at Juri expectantly.

"As Kuwabara has left the arena…Shishiwakamaru's the winner!!"

A roar shot up from Shishiwakamaru's fangirl section and my ears twitched in annoyance. If there was one thing I hoped to escape when being sucked into a completely different world, it was the squealing hell of fangirls. Of course, I had no such luck. So, I ignored the urge to bash some heads in and turned my attention to what Koto was shouting over the audience roars of approval, "Shishiwakamaru dispatched Kuwabara with a flick of his robe!"

"Heh heh…I'm here to please my fans…" Shishiwakamaru said with a smile. A roar echoed from the girls and I vocally gagged as loudly as I could. Ghost chuckled slightly and Kurama allowed a small smile to hit his face. Hiei on the other hand, completely ignored me. A few minutes passed and Shishiwakamaru threw out the dice once again. It landed on "Mask" for our team, meaning that it was Genkai's turn to battle and it landed on "Choice" for their team, meaning whoever they wanted to put up next. Shishiwakamaru smirked and said, "My turn again, natch. And you two?"

"As I said, I'll step in for our missing members. Any objections, Kurama?" Hiei stepped forward in determination and smirked in anticipation.

"Wait," an older sounding voice said from behind us. We all turned around and I smiled as we saw Genkai standing there. Her eyes regained their sharpness and they pierced into each of us as she calmly said, "He rolled me, and I'm here."

A strange silence fell over the arena and instantly a sense of suspicion ran came over Hiei. Kurama seemed surprise as well and could only stare at her as she approached. Ghost carefully watched Genkai and then looked to me with a small smirk as he said, "This just got a whole lot more interesting."

"You don't have to tell me that," I said crossing my arms and waiting for what was about to come.

_**ME:**_** Well, there's that chapter. I hope you all liked it and that I still have my faithful readers here. We're moving even closer to the final battles of the Dark Tournament! Anyone else counting them down?**

_**Hiei:**_** Hn. You'll only go as far as the readers wish. Ask them what you have on your mind before you forget.**

_**ME:**_** Thank you for reminding me Hiei. I know this is still pretty early to be thinking about the end of this series of fanfiction, but I was wondering if anyone would be interested in me writing a sequel or something to that effect. If not, I'll end this in a certain way and if so, I'll end this story in a different way. Leave me your feedback and I promise one way or another, I'll give you a kickass final chapter.**

_**Ghost:**_** Mind you, this chapter is still in the Dark Tournament and the authoress plans on going up to some point in the Demon Tournament. This story is not near the end now, but she must get some opinions so she knows how this story is going to turn out. Leave your reviews as always.**

_**ME:**_** Thanks for reading and see you next for Yu-Yu Hakusho: Fanfiction Edition! **

**-Side note: OMG. The names are deeply annoying. I swore to myself that I would try to write all of their full names as much as I could out of respect for Yoshihiro Togashi, but their names are so long!!! Lol. I will continue to do so, but I had to rant just a little bit even though I promised to do to it on my own.-**


	25. Was That Really A Fight?

_**ME:**_** Wow, it was kinda awesome reading the reviews from the last chapter. Especially everyone supporting the Rin and Hiei pairing. Heehee.**

_**Hiei:**_** Hn, this baka onna has just been given fuel for her fire.**

_**Ghost:**_** Indeed. All of those readers demanding a love story and such have really given her some ideas that she would like to put in. This continues to become more interesting with each passing day. And I shall have a bigger part to play.**

_**ME:**_** Well, after much thought and consideration, I have decided that I will be taking this story to some point around the Demon Tournament and then have a sequel.**

_**Hiei:**_** (eyes narrow at me)**

_**Ghost:**_** (smirks in amusement) This is indeed far more interesting than anything I had ever thought possible. I do believe I shall be staying with this team for some time to come.**

_**ME:**_** I have this sinking suspicion I'm gonna wake up one night soon and fight Hiei's sword placed over my throat ready for the kill strike…and all the while Ghost may be the one selling tickets to it. **

_**Ghost:**_** I hadn't considered the idea, but it would be a good way to make up the difference I'm owed for abandoning Morte's plan. Perhaps selling recordings could pay a hefty sum as well. The authoress would like to point out that she doesn't own Yu-Yu Hakusho.**

_**Hiei:**_** Hn.**

_**ME:**_** (glances between them with my eyebrow arched) Why do I have a feeling I'm going to regret bringing Ghost into all this? He's devious enough as is, but add that in with the rest of the group and I'm as good as beat down. Oh dear…chapter start. **

_(Just a side note: For those who want to know, I created Rin Ishida myself. She's my own little original character that I like to use. Also, the seal idea itself did not come from Naruto, but the execution of it with the hand signs did. I do plan on writing a sequel to this. I plan on this ending in the Demon World Tournament and very possibly the sequel might be a little darker with some interesting plot twists. I MEAN I'M GOING TO END IT IN THE DEMON WORLD AT THE END OF THE SERIES! I'M NOT STOPPING ANYTIME SOON! And if it's really ok with the readers, I will add some upcoming romance (just restating all that jazz). Thank you all for the support and I'll try to update more often.)_

_(And yes I agree. The anime names are cooler than the manga names…sadly.)_

_(If anyone would like to read a random story that we had to do for an Anime Club contest in school I posted it and it has Rin Ishida used in it. It's titled Returner – Yami No Shuuen. Just something funny and a stray away from the fighting. I love the ending personally. You don't have to read it, but I just thought I'd mention it.)_

_**Chapter 25: Was That really A Fight?**_

"Wait," an older sounding voice said from behind us. We all turned around and I smiled as we saw Genkai standing there. Her eyes regained their sharpness and they pierced into each of us as she calmly said, "He rolled me, and I'm here."

A strange silence fell over the arena and instantly a sense of suspicion ran came over Hiei. Kurama seemed surprise as well and could only stare at her as she approached. Ghost carefully watched Genkai and then looked to me with a small smirk as he said, "This just got a whole lot more interesting."

"You don't have to tell me that," I said crossing my arms and waiting for what was about to come.

Hiei stiffened his arms at his sides and stood in front of Genkai with his eyes narrowing on her form. I watched this interaction very carefully and resisted the urge to smirk. He stared at her and said, "Is that right? Frankly I don't think so. Our masked fighter was incredibly strong, though she restrained it. Though you are masked, I do not sense that in you."

Without missing a beat, Genkai merely looked at him from under the mask and replied with indifference, "My aura is now with Yusuke."

Hiei's eyes widened slightly and after Genkai walked past me, he turned to me. His eyes narrowed even more on me and I instantly knew what that look meant. I would have to explain whatever he asked. I rolled my eyes slightly and took a breath, saying, _"Alright, what do you want to know about?"_

"_Why was she forced to give most of her power to Yusuke?"_ Hiei asked curiously. It was beginning to get rather tedious to explain things and it made me wonder, did I really want to tell the rest of the group that I knew what was supposed to happen? The mere thought of it made the twinge of a migraine attack the side of my head.

I ran a hand through my hair and glanced around at my friends for a moment. Then I looked back to him and replied, _"Yusuke's strong. There's no debating that, but Toguro is in a completely different category. Yusuke was not strong enough to even scratch Toguro. So, she did what she thought was needed to give him the power he would have to use."_

"_In turn taking it from herself. I see…"_ Hiei answered quietly as he looked over her. Then he turned his attention back to me and I merely looked back at him. There was silence between us and I couldn't look away from his dark–red eyes. It was difficult to read his expression and it was impossible to even guess what he was thinking. Suddenly, he realized that he was still looking at me and quickly jerked his head around to refocus on the arena before him. I cocked my head to the side curiously and wondered what all that was about.

"Do you wish to protest her tardiness?" Juri asked looking at Shishiwakamaru expectantly. Shishiwakamaru merely closed his eyes and sighed.

"No," he opened his eyes and viciousness flashed through them as he continued, "I challenge her competence. I do not face a worthy opponent here. It's simply absurd that she would dare pit herself against me."

He unsheathed his sword and began to make his way toward Genkai as she calmly stood there and waited for the match to begin. Juri didn't wait any longer and stepped back with her usual girlish flare as she shouted, "Begin!"

Shishiwakamaru shot forward with incredible speed and was nearly on top of Genkai in seconds. She barely managed to dodge the sword as he attacked and didn't react as he snapped, "You're a fraud! I'll expose you!"

I watched as Genkai dodged his vicious onslaught of sword attacks and it seemed like every dodge was getting slower and slower. His blade was getting closer and closer to landing hits on her and I'm sure she felt the force as the weapon flew past her with every attack. I envied the way Genkai could keep her cool in the middle of a heated fight and didn't even flinch at the possibility of being overtaken. I could only dream of being as strong and courageous as that annoying old woman. Shishiwakamaru was relentless in his assault and because of her condition Genkai could only dodge in hopes that he would not be able to actually hit her. Koto clearly saw who had the advantage and made sure that her spectators were well informed, "Shishiwakamaru wields a nasty sword! The Masked Fighter can barely dodge the strokes…and now Shishiwakamaru's closing in!"

"You're not as swift as you were! You would have me believe you're the original Masked Fighter?" the swordsman asked with a smug little smile. He moved faster and brought down his sword shouting, "I think not!"

Everyone was in shock at what happened next and I looked around at everyone to take in their reactions. Kurama's eyes widened and Hiei looked almost surprised. Then I looked to see the shreds of Genkai's mask fly into the air and her worn face came into view. She only smiled slightly at what happened and, to my deepest shock, I instantly heard what she was thinking, _"I'm weaker than I thought I'd be."_

Shishiwakamaru handled the situation with a chilling cool as he looked at Juri and said, "See what's happened? They've switched out fighters behind that mask!" Taking a righteous air, he looked around at the audience as he proclaimed, "Even if she's an alternate, she can't step in until a team member dies! If one has, I demand to see his or her corpse right here, right now!"

The crowd erupted into protests about our team and they began throwing insults at us. Some screamed for us to suffer the death penalty and one demon from directly behind me shouted, "Bind them and give them to us! Cheaters deserve to be beaten to death in the most humiliating way! Make an example of them!"

"Oh shut up!" I roared turning to look the demon in the eyes. He looked to be some kind of Ogre demon with blood red skin and horns sticking out of his head. This loudmouth glared at me in fury and even in the wounded state I was in, I was damn sure I could still kick his ass. So, I stared right back and allowed my flaring temper to lash into him, "Like you have any right to judge us! I'm sure a lowlife such as yourself has taken what he wanted and did so in the most cowardly way! You've got a problem with us? Then get your ass down here and settle it now! Otherwise shut your mouth and let those with more power make the decision! If I hear your fat ass one more time, I'll throttle you!"

He instantly fell silent and many of the weaker demons around us settled down. They knew that if any of us decided to attack them that they didn't stand a chance. It wasn't me so much that they feared, it was the guys and even these pathetic low-lives knew that if one of them came after me, there would be hell to pay from the boys. Perhaps I had gotten way too comfortable in my surroundings, but frankly I couldn't have cared less. It was getting on my last god damn nerve hearing them badmouth Genkai and the rest of my team. However the more powerful demons continued their shouts of anger against us and I turned back around with my emotions back under control. I glanced over at Ghost who smirked and said, "I have to admit, that was rather entertaining. It seems those spats of anger are natural for you and your powers spike whenever your temper flares. Very interesting."

"You shut up too," I muttered hiding my embarrassed face behind my hand.

"It looks like Team Urameshi is about to be brought up on charges of cheating! We'll halt the action while HQ-" Koto began to speak, but stopped as a young human woman came up beside her and handed her an envelope. The fox demoness took the paper in surprise and said, "Ah, HQ has ruled! That was quick!"

A loud chorus of "DEATH!" rang throughout the stadium and my head throbbed with the thunderous noise. I pressed the palms of both of my hands against my forehead and closed my eyes while another female announcer would announce what the decision was, "Quiet please! The Fractured Fairy Tales have charged Team Urameshi with illegally switching team members. After due deliberation…HQ has ruled that this match will continue without penalty!" I had never heard so many "boos" in my life. My head continued to throb and I glanced over at Ghost and pointed at my head in annoyance. He flashed a charming "apologetic" smile and I shook my head at him and thanked god when the announcer called out, "Quiet please! Quiet! Toguro has come forward and offered to elaborate on this ruling."

The crowd fell silent in a matter of seconds and seemed to be sitting on the edge of their seats, just waiting for him to say something. I brought my hands down from my head and looked up at Toguro to get a good look at him. I had avoided looking at him since the night when he, Morte, and Elder Toguro found me in the woods and now I saw how he stared at Genkai. There was fierceness in his face that I had never seen before and I officially felt paralyzed in fear. This man who stood before us all was a coldblooded fighter who originally had been Genkai's partner. This epitome of fear was real and I had managed to escape a scrap with him and his with minor injuries. I stared over his face and shook my head slowly.

"It has been determined that Team Urameshi committed only a mild infraction-tardiness. Fact is…the woman you see in the arena is the one, and only, Masked Fighter. When she's at maximum power, her cells rejuvenate, and she appears as she did in her prime. Otherwise, this is her normal appearance. Does that about cover it…Genkai?" Toguro asked as a demonic smile broke over his face. The stadium thundered its shock and meanwhile I focused my attention on Genkai and Shishiwakamaru. For being publically out-ed about her identity, Genkai remained almost indifferent to everything that was going on. She barely offered Toguro much glance after he finished talking. Shishiwakamaru, on the other hand, looked completely beside himself with devilish glee. In fact, his smile kind of creeped me out.

"Genkai…heh heh heh…Genkai…the famous Genkai, eh? Fortunes smiles on me today! I took you for an old woman of no ability…but if you're Genkai, then I retract my earlier disdain. It now appears that I should take you very seriously!" Shishiwakamaru said as he began to pull the hilt of his sword apart. It was weird seeing the soul like shape along the hilt and I could already hear the wails of the tormented souls. I covered my ears and winced as it continued to get louder, even though he hadn't even began his attack. I slowly stepped back away from the group and leaned against the wall as a cold feeling went through my chest. Death was definitely still something that I feared and didn't want anything to deal with. Ghost and Hiei both glanced back at me to be sure that I was alright, but upon noticing what the other was doing, quickly turned around like nothing happened. Sheesh. Men. Shishiwakamaru finished unsheathing the sword and said, "Banshee Blade! Because its power is beyond awesome, Benkai sealed it away, unused. Even the wielder isn't safe for it summons…the Grim Reaper! So ends your life, Genkai!"

"He could be right! Its aura overshadows Shishiwakamaru's," Kurama mused as he stared at the blade intently. He then glanced back at me for a moment and noticed that I was covering my ears and wincing as the shrieks still continued to grow to me. My sensitive hearing allowed me to hear them long before he did and he asked, "What can you hear?"

"Tormented screams…coming from that sword…It's definitely a weapon that's not to be trifled with…I just wish it would stop," I winced as my head injury began throbbing more intensely. Hiei glanced back at me once again and watched my reaction for a moment before looking back at Shishiwakamaru as he swung the blade back. He smirked at Genkai and began to laugh in a way that made me sure that he had lost his mind.

"That's one creepy sword Shishiwakamaru's swinging! What displays of power are in store?" Koto shouted as she watched Shishiwakamaru begin spinning the sword around and around. The wails of the Banshee Blade pierced my ears and instantly I felt as though someone had rammed a sword through my head. Then it was over in seconds. I blinked in surprise. The wailing only grew louder and I could hear it ringing through my ears, but the pain had disappeared. I slowly brought my hands down away from my ears and noticed a strange aura covering my hands. Shocked, I looked over myself and saw that it wasn't just my hands. A faint, blood-red aura surrounded my entire being and seemed to be blocking out the pain. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and I quickly realized what it was. My shield was unable to recover its physical form, so instead the energy surrounded me to act as a defense. Oh yeah! So I was getting a little more skilled with my own powers. I smiled and was brought out of my train of thought by Koto shouting in worry, "The sword's shriek is knocking out the spectators! What a sight!"

"Those of weak will cannot withstand the beckoning of ghosts. I, however, find it beautiful. What's your opinion, Genkai?" Shishiwakamaru smirked demonically. By this time, souls began to circle around Shishiwakamaru and the weapon and the fighter was growing overconfident with his own power. Suddenly, he leapt into the air and glared down on Genkai as he prepared to attack her. His aim was precise and as he began to descend on her he shouted, "Take this, you old bat! Smothering Skull Gush!"

The attack landed and skulls went flying out of the ring and began attacking the audience members. Several demons were quickly killed by the demonic souls and the smell of blood entered the air. By now I was used to the smell and focused on Toguro who effortlessly flicked away a skull that had attempted to take him on. That was scary as hell…but also fascinating. How anyone could be so strong was still beyond me and if he wasn't my enemy…I would've been interested in watching him fight some more. As it was, I was pretty content to keep my distant from the guy that made professional weightlifters look like wimps. A couple of skulls came flying toward our little group and Hiei, Kurama, and Ghost merely stared at them as though they were insignificant. The skulls came flying from right in front of us and Hiei and Kurama quickly dispatched them so quickly that it was like nothing happened at all. Then something surprising happened. A skull snaked its way around the guys and came flying at me. Knowing that I didn't have the strength to defend myself, I decided I was going dodge it, but didn't have to as Ghost slid in front of me. He effortlessly dispatched the skull and then looked back at me with a small smile. It wasn't as asinine as Hiei's looks usually were, but the sentiment was almost there. I smiled back and said, "Thanks, jackass."

"No problem, squirt," Ghost replied as he placed his hand on my head. I arched my eyebrows at him and slapped his hand away in annoyance. He merely laughed and I then noticed a strange look from Hiei that stopped me in my tracks. It was almost like he was glaring at Ghost and his hand was clenched in a tight fist. What caused this sudden burst of anger? I was surprised and couldn't understand what was wrong but didn't have time to think about it. We remembered the fight that was going on and we all looked back at the arena to see what damage had been done. Where Genkai had been standing, there was nothing but a large crater and the ring had been horribly damaged. Shishiwakamaru calmly landed on the ground to proudly survey his destruction and smiled in content.

"The Banshee Blade's shriek releases evil that, through the resonating blade, becomes amplified into a shockwave. I lose a lot of aura in the process, but my target is utterly wiped out," he smiled as though his victory has been assured. I'm sure that he almost expected his fan-girls to break out into screams over his win, but what happened next almost made his eyes pop out of their sockets in shock.

"Provided it connects," Genkai said standing a ways behind him. Shishiwakamaru spun around and stared at the old woman and instantly his face became unreadable. I could easily sense his anger beginning to peak as he continued to underestimate Genkai. I started laughing at Genkai's asinine reply and just shook my head. That poor, poor bastard. He didn't stand a chance against our Genkai. This was why I loved that old woman!

"So, not a slow and weak as I thought."

"I seem to have gone a bit senile. I forgot the technique to use until you reminded me," she said pointed at him calmly. I started laughing even harder at her newest comment at his expense and shook my head. Hearing me, Genkai smiled a bit and said, "Well, at least someone can get this old bat's humor. I haven't lost that at least."

I punched my fist in the air and said, "You go old hag!"

Shishiwakamaru became infuriated and shouted, "Eh? No way you could've dodged me expect by blind luck! You won't escape next time, I promise!"

"This crowd's nervous! Many of 'em are bolting for the exits! All in all, can't say I blame 'em! Some are trying to be brave, sticking it out while the match continues!" Koto shouted as she was hiding behind her announcing seat. She tilted the microphone down toward her and I could barely see her ears peeking out from her safe place. Meanwhile, tons of the audience members we jumping out of their seats and heading for the nearest exit as fast as their legs could take them. They trampled one another as though they were walking mats and left their seats without another look back. Yet, there were some that remained sitting, even though fear was shining through their eyes. All I have to say is that I was happy I was safe away from all of that…I didn't really wanna get trampled anyway.

The wailing of Shishiwakamaru's weapon broke out through the air again and I saw that he had started swinging his blade around again. Almost instantly, a wall of tormented souls shot up directly around the two fighters and boxed them in. There was no way out and I leaned forward, anxious to see what Genkai would have to do now. Of course, a familiar voice screeched through my hearing and caused me to jump, "What the ding-dong blazes? It's like they're penned in by…shrieking ghosts!"

"Welcome back, Kuwabara," I muttered knowing that no one else heard him except for me. I merely shook my head and turned my attention back to the ring. I couldn't lie. That loveable oaf was beginning to grow on me. At least it was good to know he made it back on time.

"Restraining Walls of Screams! Nowhere to run, Genkai…Nowhere to hide!" he shouted absolutely sure of himself this time. Shishiwakamaru looked utterly demented as he stared down at Genkai and viciously sneered, "It is such a marvelous moment when you know you're sending another worthless fool who fantasizes about "justice" to the grave!"

"You know nothing about justice other than your hatred of it!" Genkai retorted monotonously. To me, she almost seemed bored.

"Oh yes!" Shishiwakamaru exclaimed looking even crazier than he did before, "I do hate it! Violence is my meat, Genkai, and wickedness my ambrosia! I have no use for hypocritical "_pacifists"_!"

"Same here. We're not so different," Genkai answered with a small smile.

"Don't you dare mock me!" Shishiwakamaru screamed in fury as he jumped in the air. He prepared the weapon to strike down Genkai and shouted, "Prepare to be torn to bits!"

"This is gonna be fun," I smiled as the idiot brought down his sword to attack. Genkai only waited until it got with her reach and quickly clapped her hands on either side of the blade just inches in front of her face. Instantaneously, Genkai reverted to her younger form and stared at Shishiwakamaru emotionlessly. The she threw her attack at him.

"Reflecting Mirror Blast!" she shouted as she broke the sword into pieces and sent spirits spiraling out of control. The attack and souls slammed into her opponent and sent him sprawling back across the ring. His blood spurted everywhere and I flinched as I watched his practically lifeless body crash. Our group was caught off guard at Genkai's last minute end to the fight and she merely stood there calmly showing off her fighting ability. Her eyes were cold as she said, "I have little aura to spare so I borrowed yours."

Shishiwakamaru was astonished. Nearly falling to unconsciousness he said, "Y-you're diabolical…"

"You misunderstand my view of justice. I just don't particularly care for scoundrels like you," Genkai stated simply as she looked at Shishiwakamaru like he was nothing, but an annoying bug that she had just squashed. Her opponent on the other hand was in a completely different state of feeling.

"Heh…well said…and…darn, you're cute like that…cute enough to…fall in love with…" with that said, Shishiwakamaru passed out and left the rest of the stadium in awe. Toguro on the other hand took this moment to speak.

"See what I mean? Genkai simply cannot be overcome by skill and tactics. The only thing…that can do that is… raw power!" Toguro said as he held a dominant hand out before him. Everyone was unsure how to act and Juri quickly took to counting to ten. Shishiwakamaru couldn't even move and I slowly looked over Toguro. This time instead of being struck by fear, I looked at the man…or what was left of him. There was so much that was twisted inside of him and his face clearly showed more than what I saw in the anime. He was terrifying and the fact that I could easily be killed by him at any second didn't help that feeling, but there was a darker sense of pain that I could easily see. It disturbed me and I felt my heart flutter for a second.

"Ten! The winner is – Genkai!" Juri shouted and instead of the roar I had grown accustomed, the sound that came from the audience was merely an annoying buzzing. They all were focused on Genkai as she reverted to her normal form. The youth seemed to just wash away from her face and she once again became the woman that I knew. She turned back and I gave her a thumbs up. The Master Fighter just rolled her eyes and let it go.

"One left," Hiei said drawing my attention back to the situation at hand. Genkai waited for Kurama and Hiei to ascend in the ring and I pulled myself to the edge. There was no strength left to actually get up so I stood on the sidelines beside Ghost and watched the original team wait for their opponent to start speaking.

"Oh dear. There's no real need to throw this die now, but would you still like it to decide?" the old man asked holding out the die before him that had our names on it. It really didn't matter much to the group and they merely shrugged.

"Fine with us," Kurama stated calmly.

"Little good it'll do you," Hiei answered flatly. I could hear a strange tenseness in his voice and I wondered what had caused his sudden turn of mood. I was somewhat confused, but wasn't able to really think about it as he lightly tossed the die into the air. Everything got quiet as we watched it bounce across the ground and land on a name that everyone immediately dismissed. Kuwabara.

Juri grabbed the microphone and flashing her girlish charm, enough to make me gag even more, and said, "It's come up, Kuwabara. Guess we'll have to give it another roll-"

"DON'T NOBODY TOUCH IT!" Kuwabara shouted out over the entire stadium causing Juri to almost fall flat on her face. Everyone flinched and I heard Hiei mutter some obscenity under his breath about his precious ears and Kuwabara's disposable voice box. We all turned to see Kuwabara standing right next to Koto with the microphone as he continued, "Cause I'm here to tell ya…Kazuma Kuwabara's back, fans! Ready to chew gum, kick butt, and take names! Too bad I'm outta gum!"

"You don't make any sense most of the time, but good to have you back your big-mouthed dork!" I shouted giving the frizzy haired baka a thumbs up. I smirked though and barely resisted the urge to say, "Good to have you back, sorry you only get to stay for maybe five minutes. Don't hit your head when you disappear again." He grinned in response and ran forward tossing the microphone over his shoulder. I about cried from laughter as I watched Koto dive for it and scuttle back to her seat, lest Kuwabara have a new reason to come back for the piece of equipment. The over-excited lug jumped into the ring and was ready for the next fight.

The old man's eyes narrowed on our beloved annoyance and I heard him mutter quietly, "That one again…oh well… At least I won't need to try anything clever."

"It's unfortunate that he makes a valid point. Oh well," I muttered shaking my head slightly. I looked up and the two of them barely let Juri get the final syllable of "begin" out before jumping into battle. Of course, that twisted old man threw his hands out in front of him and all we could see was a huge black sphere explode into existence. It immediately swallowed Kuwabara and held him off of the ground where we could see him. The crowd was shocked and everyone was in awe at how quickly he had been disposed of. Me, on the other hand, just covered my face with my hand and shook my head, "My god…I thought he would've lasted at least a little longer than that."

"That fool. He should look before he leaps," Hiei stated causing me to place my hand on his shoulder. He glanced back at me and I smiled.

"But that would be like doing the right thing, and since when has ANYONE in this group done the right thing?" I asked with a smirk. Hiei couldn't resist a small smirk and then looked back to the "fight." I followed his lead.

"Hey! Lemme out!" Kuwabara shouted in concern. Not one to let a wound heal, Koto jumped up from her seat with microphone in hand to document Kuwabara's latest blunder.

"Kuwabara no sooner jumped in…then he got trapped in a black sphere!"

"This, my friends, is the Terminal Hagoromo… An entrance to another dimension. I can manifest it without the use of the cloth. The rest of my team was just an opening act…using tools, mere toys actually, I created to their talents," the old man said waving his hand causing the black hole to disappear and take Kuwabara alone with it who was shouting and protesting in aggravation. I shook my head and knowing that he would be alright, I turned my attention back to the cocky bastard who stood before us saying, "One gone…three to go. I'd hope Shishiwakamaru would last into the finals. Oh well..And up next? Kurama? If so I could tell him the secret of the smoke…if he wins."

The die was thrown into the air for the final time and I bounced on the balls of my feet…well tried to anyway considering I was still pretty injured from the beating I took. I was completely beside myself to see this next fight and couldn't wait to see the end of it all. It was a bit of a fangirl moment, but could anyone blame me? I was DYING to see what Genkai was going to do to his fugly face. Haha! I heard it clink against the ground and we all leaned forward to see the word that came up. YES!

Mask.

-_Until Next Time!—_

_**ME:**_** Well, I hope you all liked this update and I will try to update faster. Computers are so unreliable these days. Viruses for no apparent reason and all. So, I haven't really had access to a computer and type up these stories…Although I have some awesome ideas coming your way!**

_**Ghost:**_** I doubt that the readers want to hear your excuses, but would much rather read your updates. What is your opinion Hiei?**

_**Hiei:**_** Although it is beyond my understanding, I agree. These humans seem more focused on reading your updates than they should. Perhaps, if you like to keep them interested you should update. **

_**ME:**_** Uh-huh…Alright, no excuses. I'll do my best to update. See you soon people! Review and let me know how annoyed and angry you are with me. I understand and will try to do better! Bad author (hits self in the head)**


	26. Is That His Face!

_**ME:**_** Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! (running around like a chicken with its head cut off.)**

_**Hiei:**_** It's twenty-six chapters into this torture and I still cannot comprehend the things that send this baka onna into a fit like this.**

_**Ghost:**_** I do believe it's because she realized how long it took her to update last time and she worked ten times harder to try to make up for it with this one. She's running on sugar and little sleep…and she's worried that she may have lost some of her reviewers because of it.**

_**Hiei:**_** If she would only pay more attention and use what intellect she has, as scarce as that may be, you wouldn't have to clarify any of this for her.**

_**ME:**_** (begins to have a panic attack)**

_**Ghost:**_** Oh dear…what shall we do?**

_**Hiei:**_** A simple remedy that I have found the most effective. (smacks me upside the head and knocks me unconscious.) Enjoy the silence**

_**Ghost:**_** Uh-huh…well the authoress would like to point out that she doesn't own anything from Yu-Yu Hakusho. Please review and enjoy the Chapter. Chapter Start.**

**SPECIAL DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of McDonald's either…had to say that.**

_(I tried to make this update come a little faster and last a little longer as an apology to all my readers for the long delay. Hopefully this won't happen again and I plan to update at least once a month. I definitely plan on more than that, but if school conflicts I'll do what I can.)_

_**Chapter 26: IS THAT HIS FACE?**_

The die was thrown into the air for the final time and I bounced on the balls of my feet…well tried to anyway considering I was still pretty injured from the beating I took. I was completely beside myself to see this next fight and couldn't wait to see the end of it all. It was a bit of a fangirl moment, but could anyone blame me? I was DYING to see what Genkai was going to do to his fugly face. Haha! I heard it clink against the ground and we all leaned forward to see the word that came up. YES!

Mask.

Both of the "old" fighters stepped into the ring and examined one another. By this point Genkai already knew that her opponent was hiding behind a disguise and wasn't impressed. Of course, when was she ever impressed by the enemies that we fought? She was one tough old bat and she'd been in so many fights it would take a hell of a lot more than anything these fools have to impress her. I snickered and said, _"So, why don't you show that "old" fool how the real fighters dance around the ring?"_

"_You knew as well I see. These morons are so full of themselves. Hopefully our boys won't ever get this bad,"_ Genkai responded with a sniff of contempt that reminded me of Hiei. I laughed and shook my head.

"_Trust me, Genkai. You'll make sure of that,"_ I said as she turned around to face her enemy. She didn't respond and she didn't have to for me to know where her mind went. By the way her shoulders sagged, even though it was only for a second, she was thinking that I was wrong and when she was going to die. I withdrew for a second and took a breath. That was going to be something I didn't quite know how to handle just yet. What was I going to do when Toguro took down one of the few people I had confided in and the rest of them would soon find out that I knew it was going to happen. I had set myself up for failure that time and there was only one thing I could do. Sleep in the bed I made. With that on my mind, I took a break and returned my attention to the fight.

"Ho ho… you up to it? You must be rather tired…" he asked contemptuously of Genkai. The psychic merely arched her eyebrow for a second and seemed to lose interest in her enemy. I'm sure she was beginning to exhaust her patience for being underestimated.

"And you can stop putting on the old and feeble act. Is there any further point in the pretense, whoever you are?" Genkai asked in annoyance. The entire stadium seemed to freeze and stare in shock. Hiei, Kurama and Ghost leaned in closer to see what she meant and the old man's face twitched for a moment. I smirked.

"Nothing gets past those eagle eyes. Just ask Yusuke. He's suffered under them a lot longer than any of us have," I laughed and crossed my arms. For someone as old as Genkai, she sure did have the eyes of a hawk. I hoped my eyes would stay that good when I got older.

"You "never judge a book by its cover," eh? I'd even concealed my aura level. Disguises are something of a hobby you see," he said as he calmly reached up to the side of his chin. I snorted and growled something fairly colorful about him needing a disguise just to please his own mother. Kurama chuckled slightly and Ghost had to put his hand over his mouth to keep his face straight. I could've sworn that even Hiei cracked a smile and I noticed a vein appear on the forehead of Genkai's opponent. His eyes narrowed on me and I played the innocent act, looking around as if someone else had said something instead of me. His grip was a little tighter on the edge of his disguise as he said, "When I'm finished taking out the rest of your team, I'm coming after you, you annoying female! I've heard enough of your aggravating voice. Ah, well…might as well unveil now."

The crowd was absolutely shocked. They couldn't even comprehend why he had disguised himself, let alone make it seem like he was a feeble old man. I yawned in boredom and wanted nothing more than for the match to start…just so I could see how badly Genkai would jack him up. This was one of the best fights in my opinion because not only did Genkai make him look like a total fool as she danced circles around him, but she did it all without exerting any aura of her own…and that was besides the fact that she didn't have any to spare in the first place.

"The answer to the question I'm hearing from the curious audience is quite simple. I did myself up as an old man because frankly, I hate senior citizens. Assuming the guise of what I scorn boosts my aggression. Aging…Pssh! It's grotesque! A veritable sin!" he stated as he ripped off the face and outfit of an old man and stepped forward in the get-up that he prized so much. His pink clown suit glared against the light of the stadium and I gagged at seeing the hearts on his face and belt buckle. What I said next was so wrong, but officially made Genkai's day a hell of a lot better.

"Well, would you look at that, I think I found Ronald McDonald's fugly, reject cousin who flunked outta make-up school," I growled shaking my head sadly. Genkai responded with barking laughter and I instantly knew that since McDonald's had made its way to Japan that she understood my reference. Kurama also understood and shook his head muttering something about me knowing the right things to say to make the situation very awkward indeed. Suzuki clearly was resisting the urge to lose his temper and merely flicked his hair, which could I say looked like someone had stuck their finger in an electric socket and kept it there for a few days. This idiot was just an overall disaster. If you had to have gravity defying hair, at least have the bad-ass nature to back it up.

"I plan to make my mark long before my wrinkles start to show. And everyone will know my name!" Suzuki called holding his arms out proudly. I rolled my eyes and just counted the seconds until his time in the ring would end. Of course he was as long winded as the rest of the cocky fools and continued, "And my name will spell pure, unholy horror! Winning this tournament will be the first step!"

"Hmph…idiot," Hiei muttered indifferently.

"You have NO idea how right you are," I said with a sigh.

"You're all here at the beginning to witness this moment for posterity. I am Suzuki, the Beautiful Fighter…man of a thousand faces – and moves! When you speak of me speak well, and don't forget the "Beautiful" part," he said waving a finger like a teacher would. Koto went to town on commenting on this new opponent. Meanwhile, I tried not to gag. He had to have a thousand faces. That way when he got rejected in one face he could quickly switch to another and try again.

"You say you're beautiful and yet you hide your face? Perhaps you are, in fact, quite ugly?" Genkai inquired making it clear that she didn't understand this sentiment he had. She was not alone. Suzuki merely brushed her off.

"A legend is forever, so what does it matter what face it has? People are fascinated by the unknown, and their fear of it fuels their imaginations. Take gods and devils for example. Women a century from now will wonder, "That beautiful, powerful fighter…what did he look like?" I get a thrill imagining how they'll debate over that," Suzuki ranted quite happily as he disappeared into his own little world. He looked around and continued in a much more excited tone, "I find your type repugnant. This I promise, that once I win I will have all the old and infirm put to death! Along with anyone who challenges my fiat! Only followers – my followers – will be allowed to win!"

He outstretched his hands to the audience as though he was welcoming them into his world. The reaction he received was quite the opposite. I watched as the whole audience turned on him and threw his "generous" offer back in his face. While I completely agreed with them I still felt the same as earlier when they had turned on our group. If they didn't have the guts or the muscles to come say it to our faces, they should've kept their big mouths shut. Which is why what happened next seemed somewhat justified in my opinion… Or maybe it was only justified because they had pissed me off so much earlier…that might've been it.

Suzuki picked out the area of the audience that annoyed him the most and without even giving a second thought, shot an aura blast straight into their midst. Quite a few of the demons saw it coming and managed to dive out of the way, but the few who didn't soon became a part of the small crater that was left over from the impact. It didn't take long for the smoke to clear and all of us to see what was left. They instantly fell silent and didn't utter another syllable against the laughable clown. He looked at them plainly and said, "I'm quite serious."

"This clown's nuts," Hiei stated simply while Kurama nodded in agreement.

"Allow me to amend my earlier statement. I think I found Ronald McDonald's fugly, reject cousin who flunked outta make-up school who's on drugs when he should be on happy pills," I muttered shaking my head slightly. It was hard to keep myself from laughing with everyone else, but in order to pull off the "comedic" effect, I had to say everything with a straight face…that was almost impossible for me!

"You just don't let-up do you?" Ghost asked with a grin beginning to peak out of the side of his mouth. I smiled and shrugged it off. It was good to know that he was just as amused as I was about all this.

"I'll be here all week…hopefully," I stopped and thought about it for a moment. It would be at least a week for the finals from what I read on the schedule Genkai had thrown into my face. At least that's what I remembered. Maybe it was a week and two days…I couldn't remember, but I knew that I still had some time before I would have to face Morte in the finals. I looked up and saw that Suzuki crossed his arms as was getting ready to continue on his little rant. I groaned and growled, "Why do they all have to be so god damn talkative!"

"You will appear in a passage of my story titled, "Genkai Gets Flattened by Suzuki, the Beautiful Fighter." I'd advise you not to try the Reflecting Mirror Blast. It works by matching harmonics, right? Well, I can change my aura harmonics at will," Suzuki held up his pointer finger and released some of his aura. I could see it change every few seconds to prove his point and couldn't help but be impressed. That was definitely useful against someone like Genkai. Juri waved them into the fight and I silently cheered for the official start to the battle. Suzuki lunged at Genkai shouting, "Get the picture? You'll just have to try something else…if you can! Rainbow Cyclone!"

He threw multiple aura attacks with ranging harmonics to surround Genkai and send her flying out of bounds. There was a huge explosion as she crashed into the wall and Juri jumped on her job to start the count. To the inexperienced eyes, it seemed that the battle was over and Genkai had been beaten without even any effort being put into it. We all knew differently though. I whistled and said, "That's one tough old lady. She's going to make this clown look like a ragdoll."

Hiei glanced back at me and I turned my attention to him. There was a warning in the corner of his eyes, but I quickly dismissed it. I had already decided that I was going to tell them what I knew about their future and the things to come. Hopefully, I would have Genkai, Kurama, and Hiei's help when it came down to it. That way there would be less questions asked and more plans made against our enemies in the future. At least that's what I hoped. Although…I still wasn't sure how Yusuke would react when he found out I knew Genkai was going to die.

"Mmm… A rainbow-hued blast of various harmonics is a most exquisite beautiful move, and my favorite," Suzuki chuckled while Juri began counting how long Genkai was out of bounds. The freak of nature clown put his hands on his hips and said, "Huh! That it? There're nine-hundred and ninety-nine other moves I wanted to show her."

"As if your pea-sized brain could even remember that many attacks," I barked at him distracting him for a second. He turned his attention on me and finally had to say something back.

"It would be easier to take those air-headed comments if they were coming from someone as beautiful as that Morte, but since they're coming from the ugly duckling it's merely laughable," Suzuki said with his eyes flashing evilly. He smirked and continued, "Maybe a little of my make-up would make you desirable enough to one of those oafs you call teammates."

"What did you say you colorblind freak of nature? How about I show you how to dress properly for a fight so you don't look like you should be hung upside down from a tree branch and beat until you drop some candy? I can already here the kids now. Piñata! Piñata!" I shouted angrily, shaking my fist at him. This promised to be an even more detailed name calling match, except that Genkai appeared from the rubble calling away Suzuki's attention. She dashed forward with a speed that rivaled Hiei's and every single member of my team watched her effortlessly snatch the clown nose off of his face and land inside the ring, silencing Juri's count. We all gave a little chuckle at the "beautiful fighter's" oblivious nature.

"Ah…tougher than I thought," he accessed her with very careful eyes. It was clear that he was trying to act mysterious and cool, but that made me only laugh harder at his expense. It was now Genkai's turn to have some fun. She tossed her new "trophy" into the air almost proudly and gave a very small grin. The old woman was having way too much fun with that.

"That's a shapely nose you've got. You should show your face. Might help your legend," Genkai said while all of us got a kick out of this. Even Kurama seemed deeply amused. Suzuki was completely shocked and stared at his real nose instead of fake one that he had before. We saw his horrified stare and he began to throw a tantrum like a little child.

"Y-You witch!" he exclaimed in fury.

"As I said, I'm no champion of justice. I'll take down anyone I don't like," Genkai stated like the bad-ass she was. She pointed at Suzuki with a superior smile and continued in such a way that made his anger boil beneath the surface, "No need to waste any aura on you, either. I'll just use my fists. I had to have a strong physique to withstand the unimaginable pain of becoming the successor. Compared to that, your attacks are like pound cake."

"You…old…crone…You dare mock me? Graah!" Suzuki flexed and like Toguro, but on a much smaller scale, his muscles bulged and exploded across his body. Even I had to admit that he would've looked like a real formidable opponent…if it hadn't been for that damn glop on his face that he called make-up! He stared at Genkai and laughed maniacally saying, "Then I'll save my aura, too! Ha Ha, how d'ya like my Explosive Flesh of Steel? It's Toguro's move! As you can see, I can do just as well as he can!"

"You think so? I don't. You'll lose and why? While you're a genius at creating weapons tailored to others…that gives you no edge in combat. Even Shishiwakamaru was stronger than you," Genkai said with a biting edge on the tip of her tone. I could see it slice into Suzuki's pride and the fool rushed in headfirst without even planning his course of action. Now, I would finally get to see one of my favorite beat downs from the great Genkai!

"Shut up!" Suzuki screamed in rage as he attempted to beat down Genkai with brute force. He slammed his oversized fist down on the ground where she had been standing, but Genkai being small and swift effortlessly jumped out of the way and she retaliated with a beautiful right hook to Suzuki's face. You could already hear his nose begin to break.

I threw my arms up into the air like I had just seen an amazing field goal and squealed, "Score! It's good!"

"Does she usually get like this?" Ghost asked of Kurama and Hiei. The three of them merely shook their heads at me and decided that it would be best to leave me to my own little problems. They refocused their attention on the ring.

"We've found that at times like this, it's best to just let it go," Kurama advised sagely.

"Not that there's much sense to be had when it comes to that baka onna," Hiei sneered causing me to stop and rub the annoying pulsing vein on my forehead, but I quickly put that aside because Genkai moved to further beat Suzuki into the next millennia.

He slid across the ring floor from the original hit and the old woman jumped into the air just above him. She waited only a few seconds before crashing down with both of her feet firmly planted in the middle of his back. I heard several of his bones crack and the Reiki Master swung around to stand directly in front of him. This was one of those times where I watched her kick him straight in the face and felt my eyes flash green with jealousy. No matter how long I could stay in this world and try to fight like her, I would NEVER be able to be even a fourth as good of a fighter as she was. Or as graceful. I envied her so much. Yet, I was distracted once again. It was time for the grand finale!

Genkai reared back her fist and then just went to town, furiously pummeling Suzuki's pathetic face. I laughed and watched her land well over thirty, no, over forty punches to his face. She moved with such speed that one could barely see her fists make contact, but it was clear they had when his head went back and forth in different directions. No one even had the chance to see his normal face before Genkai practically destroyed any beauty it may have had. I laughed even harder when she nonchalantly pulled back and just gave him a small "hmph" to signify that she was done. He was beaten to the point of delusion as he stared, or at least tried to through his puffy face, and gasped before crumbling to the ground, "Qu…Quack…"

No one uttered a single sound as Genkai stood back and then ran her hands through her hair as realization dawned on her, "Hmph! Never got a look at his real face."

Unsure what had just happened, Juri announced who the winner was and the audience went into a hesitant uproar. Our little rag-tag team of fighters was really beginning to throw them all for a loop, and quite frankly it was only just the beginning. They couldn't have any idea whatsoever was going to come up for the final round of the tournament, and even though I was happy that I had made it this far, I couldn't help but feel extremely anxious. The next fight I would have would be against Morte…and that meant I had to bring everything I had to the battle.

We made our way out of the arena and while we were somewhat tired and injured, we now had a new teammate and things were looking up…temporarily. Ghost seemed to fall right in with the group and we had made it through another ordeal. There was only just one thing left for all of us. I smiled and said, "We made it all the way guys…It's great."

"Yes, but now we're in for the fight of our lives. Our opponents are clearly in a league far beyond those we've fought already," Kurama said sighing slightly.

"That's true, but all of you have grown in ways that your opponents can only dream of. We must use the time we have now to heal, and prepare ourselves for the real battle. It's just over the horizon," Genkai said looking down the hallway distantly. It was easy to tell where her mind went and I felt a lump settle in my chest. We walked outside in silence and knowing that I was going to need a pillar of strength for what was coming out I slowed to a stop. They noticed my hesitation and all turned to me. It was difficult, but I masked my face with a smile and decided to single Hiei out to tell him what was coming next and figure out what should be done.

"Please go on ahead guys. I have something I need to talk to Hiei about before I tell you all what I have to say. We'll head back to the room soon," I said looking at Hiei for a moment. His face was a complete mask of emotion as he simply stopped and waited for me. It could've been my imagination, but I swore I saw something strange flash behind his eyes. Kurama arched his eyebrow slightly, but quickly took charge of the situation before anything else could be said.

"Alright. We'll be waiting," with that, the kitsune ushered everyone away leaving Hiei and I alone. Ghost looked tempted to hover in an attempt to find out what I was about to do, but I could literally see the wheels turning in his head. He ultimately decided that he would wait, just like everyone else. He offered a small wink at me and disappeared with a smile. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Then I turned and walked into a clump of trees away from the entrance of the stadium so we could get some privacy. Hiei silently followed suit. Soon we stood in a small clearing nearby and there was absolutely no one around us. A sense of fear overwhelmed me and I struggled to calm myself. I had to talk to him and I had to tell him what was coming. I needed to have something to fall back on and at that moment, Hiei was the only one I thought of.

"I hope you dragged me away from the group for something important. I'm growing tired of you constantly wasting my time," Hiei said leaning against a tree and relaxing. Aggravation snapped inside me and I spun on my heel to glare at him. Why couldn't he just give me a chance to talk for once!

"What's your problem with me? If anything I've been getting stronger and being able to take care of myself more! Why are you being such an ass?" I snapped crossing my arms. Hiei's eyes instantly narrowed on me and I could see the annoyance radiating off of him. I swallowed and tried to remain calm. This wasn't going to be good…I could tell. How long had he been bottling this up for?

"I don't have a problem. I merely state fact when I say we'd be better off with that acid ray of sunshine than you. You are constantly being attacked, constantly hurt, constantly needing saved, and constantly needed to be babysat. On multiple occasions Kurama and I have switched guards over you. We have better things to do than worry about you're pathetic life," Hiei answered coolly. I froze in my tracks and tried think straight.

"I…I never once asked you guys to do that…" I muttered in emotional turmoil.

"No, but unfortunately we are burdened by you and your ineptitude in combat."

"But-"

"We're constantly reminded that we have a child to look after. A child not even fit to clean the shoes of the weakest trash in this tournament."

"I'm not-"

"Oh, but you are. Morte controls you. Sends you to attack us. It's unfortunate that Yusuke is so trusting and refused to rid us of your problematic life. Kurama and his foolish kind heart will also be the death of us all. Of course it's natural to expect this from a fool like Kuwabara."

"That's not fair!"

"A weak minded human sentiment. That's the exact reason you are a death sentence for us all. There is no "fair" in our world," Hiei lashed out viciously causing me to withdraw. I always knew Hiei didn't like the fact that I wasn't as strong as the rest of them. Even Kuwabara, who Hiei didn't care for, could put me to shame and the apparition held that against me. I felt as though I had been betrayed, even though I didn't have a right to…and I just wanted to cry. I tightly bit the inside of my lip and tried to compose myself to talk in a level voice…that is until Hiei got his last crack him, "I bet you were as worthless, if not more, in your reality than ours."

"SHUT UP!" I screamed and brought my hand back. I threw it forward with all of the strength I could muster and caught Hiei right across the jaw. It could have been the force being the impact or sheer surprise that I actually struck him that caused him to move, but whatever it was, he hit the ground sprawling. I didn't even bother look as I turned around and blindly ran as far away as fast as my legs could take me. I fought to keep the tears from coming, but failed miserably. Rivers were flooding down the sides of my face and I pushed myself to run even harder than I had before. The strain I was putting on my legs rivaled that of the time when I ran to stop Morte from attacking Yukina and I could instantly feel the pain setting in, but for once I didn't care. I pushed harder and didn't watch where I was going.

That is until I heard something…and it was a dangerous something too…Morte and Toguro. I froze in my tracks and grabbed the nearest tree to stop myself. I hid behind the thick trunk as fast as I could and struggled to silent my sharp breathing. It took a moment or so, but once I was able to control myself, I scurried into the tree and hid myself among the leaves. Peering down just below me, I saw Morte standing with her back to me and Younger Toguro looking at her with his hands in his pockets. I smothered my demon energy as quickly as I could and managed to stay as still as a statue. It wasn't quick enough however because I saw Toguro's eyes flicker over his sunglasses and stare intently at me. My heart plummeted and I knew without a doubt, there was going to be no way out of this for me. If I had been smart, I would've just kept on running.

Yet, instead of bringing this to Morte's attention, Toguro returned his eyes to the slender female and said, "So what exactly is so special about the Ishida girl? Why are you after her so desperately? I was under the impression you had given up on her usefulness."

"It's not her so much that I'm after. It's something that she can give to me. I was a fool to think I could get it without her. Have you heard of the jewel called the Yin-Yang Eye?" Morte asked crossing her arms tightly over her chest. It was clear that she was trying to act calm and collected, but I instantly noticed the nervous twitch in her left ear. She was as deeply afraid of Toguro as I was. Which was fascinating…

"I may have heard something about it. Was that the same Yin-Yang Eye that caused a blood bath in the Makai a long time ago? Rumors have reached even our meager human world and from what I understand it was created by a massacre of many different lives leading up to its creation," Toguro said taking off his glasses. Once again, he glanced at where I was perched in the tree, but instead of telling Morte, acted as though I was just another forest animal.

"Yes it is the same Yin-Yang Eye. It was something that my brother and I read about in a cult within the Makai. That story is for another time, but Rin is the key to that. I want it," Morte answered passionately staring coldly at her temporary teammate. She made it perfectly clear with her body language that she told him this information only because she was beginning to run out of options and that he was not allowed to take an interest in me as well.

"I see. You needn't worry. Urameshi is my only concern in this tournament. What you do is nothing I care about, but I can't help but be curious. Why is she the key?" he asked curiously. Half of me wondered if he was asking this of his own volition or if he could sense my heartbeat pick up at the mention of what Morte's true intentions were. The demoness growled and flicked her hair. I caught a glimpse of her face and saw that her stress was beginning to put lines in her once flawless face. That's what you get biotch!

"How should I explain this? Her soul and being are nothing of importance. There's nothing deeply special about her and nothing that I desire from her other than the Yin-Yang Eye. The mere fact of the matter is that she is compatible with guarding the jewel and therefore is of significance to me. She is the only obstacle in my way and once I find what I want, she'll no longer be anything worth keeping around," Morte answered simply. I blinked in surprise and struggled to stay perfectly still. So, apparently I was important, but not as a specific person. I was just the luck of the draw…What the hell? That may have answered some questions, but it raised plenty more. Nothing Morte did made any sense to me and

"I see…Well, no one knows anything about that jewel around here and if you want to keep interest in it to a minimum I would suggest not repeating anything you just said to me to anyone else. You and your brother can have your prize, just leave Urameshi to me," Toguro said eyeing Morte seriously. She shivered slightly and put a few more feet of distance between her and Toguro.

"If you get rid of Urameshi, I won't have another obstacle standing in my way. You can have him. I just can't have him rising up and getting in the way of what I want. Got it?" Morte growled suddenly trying to play the tough act now that she had put some distance between the two of them. Toguro didn't seem fazed and simply allowed it to roll off his shoulders.

"As you wish," he answered calmly seeming to disappear into his own world.

"Well…I'll take my leave of you. I have some things I need to tend to," Morte said spinning on her heels and without even looking back walked off. I watched intently as she left and as soon as she was out of sight I heard her sprint away as fast as her legs could take her. I released my withheld breath and closed my eyes.

"Why didn't you say anything? She's your teammate," I asked as Toguro replaced the sunglasses on his face. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to run if he wanted to fight me, I carefully climbed out of the tree and stood against the trunk of it. The muscled man looked between the trees that Morte had left between for a moment before turning to face me. I felt his shadow wash over me and I swallowed hard.

"Her interests are of no concern to me. If I thought it would make Urameshi riot to become even stronger I would allow her to have free reign. Otherwise, you aren't anything to me. Just another face passing in the crowd."

It was a very simple answer and one I wasn't exactly prepared for. I swallowed and looked down at the ground. The man who was standing before me was the definition of danger. He would kill Genkai in a matter of days and then would practically bring down the entire stadium in the final battle against Yusuke. He could butcher me and no one would even know what happened unless he allowed it to be known. Toguro was death in itself…and yet he wasn't as cruel as I thought. He wouldn't kill me or even be a part of killing me for no apparent reason.

"You know what's going to become of Genkai don't you?" Toguro asked causing me to flinch. He moved to stand directly in front of me and when I looked up he was right in my face. I fell against the tree on instincts and sucked in a fearful breath. God please don't let him kill me! This monsterous figure who stood before me practically caused me to disappear into his shadow and I remembered back just before the Dark Tournament. How close he had been when he punched the tree behind me and how mere inches separated me from being killed.

"W-what do you mean?" I stammered trying not to double over in a panic attack. He brought his hand up and lifted my chin so that I would stare right at his eyes.

"Morte has told me everything about you, under the condition that I allowed her to be in the Tournament and the change the rules for the honorary fighters that she handpicked to go against you. You know everything that's going to happen. You even know how this tournament is going to end. Whether Urameshi wins…or I do," he said simply causing me to tremble in fear.

"I-I…y-yes…I m-mean…" it was impossible for me to even form a coherent thought.

"It's tempting, I have to admit, when there is someone directly in front of you who knows your future to demand them to tell you what it is. Especially when that person is weaker than you. You have a sense of power that just rushes through you and a voice in the back of your head urging you on," Toguro said still forcing me to stare into his eyes. I saw them behind the sunglasses and could barely even bring myself to blink. Staring at him something slowly began to truly dawn on me. This wasn't a story anymore…this was life. He wasn't just some big baddy…he was a person standing right before me, holding my life in his hands. Those tormented eyes I saw behind his shades froze my insides. Yes, it was true that he chose his path and made his own decisions, but there was something horrible behind those eyes. A dark sorrow that I could only imagine was eating away at him from the inside.

"I…I wouldn't know…power isn't exactly my strong point…I'm sure you've seen that," I responded this time managing to eliminate most of my stammering. As for any other indication of my fear, I was sure he could see it plainly on my face.

"Would you like to hear something I find rather fascinating?" Toguro inquired releasing my chin and stepping away from you. I sensed his power recede and he hid his hands away in his pockets once more. I breathed for a second before looking at him more carefully. What was he playing at? Toguro chuckled and said, "I haven't dealt with many females since I broke ties with Genkai…but when I have they never bring themselves to look in my eyes for extended periods of time. For some reason, there's something there that wards them away and it makes it difficult to read them because they're hiding so much. Morte is no different in that matter…and yet you stare at them like you're trying to analyze what you can see. Due to that, you've given me a chance to see your own mind…"

I stopped and looked at him in shock. He's seen into my own mind? How was that possible? He didn't try to force his way past my barriers and just simply left me alone? What could he have possibly seen while I stared back at him in absolute terror? Besides me constantly reminding myself to breathe and remember not to lock my knees, I was pretty sure I wasn't thinking anything worth hearing.

"It's interesting how fate works. You were given a special gift coming into this world… Remember what it's like for those who don't have the foresight to see what's coming and how strange it is when they find someone who does. Use that power wisely and don't allow it to isolate you from your environment. You can still die here and it would be dangerous for you to detach yourself so far into the game," Toguro advised and then turned to leave. He didn't even offer a second look back at me and he disappeared into the forest just like Morte before him. Once again, I was completely alone.

"WHAT THE HELL?" I screamed collapsing to my knees and banging my head against the tree trunk. I tried to stop my body from shaking so badly. The biggest baddy I had seen yet, and I forced myself to not even think about what was coming up in the future, stood mere inches away from me and I still somehow managed to get away with not even a scratch on me! It was fricking insane! I fought to breathe normally and looked around to see if I could sense anyone else coming toward me. The last thing I needed right then was someone to put something else on the overflowing plate I had in front of me. When I finally managed to calm myself down, I went through everything I knew.

So, it turned out my original purpose of being brought here wasn't just to kill Yusuke. That was a side mission to make sure that he wouldn't get powerful enough and get in Morte's way. That seemed pointless to me in the first place because there wasn't even one instance when I was stronger than Yusuke, even when I was taken over by that strange power inside of me. Now, it was revealed that Morte wasn't alone. She was working with her brother. That fact alone made me feel just about ready to puke. Morte by herself was enough to kill me, but now she had back up? When was it going to end? She pulled me out of my world and into this one because she was after some kind of jewel called the Yin-Yang Eye, which from what Toguro said had a bloody past. I wasn't sure how, but I was the one who could bring her this jewel. I was nothing special by myself, but she chose me because…I'm "compatible" with the thing… That was greek to me, but at least I knew some of Morte's motives now… Although when it all came down to it I still couldn't do anything to stop her in whatever the hell she was planning and I had a shit ton of more questions than I had answers. That wasn't going to do anything for me in the long run.

"What the hell am I going to do now?" I muttered pushing myself to my feet and tried to figure out where I was going to go, now that I had the last heart-attack I wanted to have that day. Then again, I never have it that easy and just when I was beginning to calm back down I sensed Hiei somewhere close by. Damn it! It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that he was looking for me and at that very moment…he was the last person I wanted to see. So I turned and ran. I couldn't say how far I ran or how long, but when my mind came out of autopilot I realized three things.

One, the forest was beginning to look somewhat dark.

Two, I had no idea where exactly I was on the island.

Three, my legs were beginning to feel like I had strained them too far this time.

That's when the trouble started. Something caught my foot and I crashed onto the ground in a heap as pain seared through my ankle. Instantly I felt one of the bones crack and I knew it was going to take a full night to heal it up. I growled at myself for my own stupidity and pushed myself up to my knees. I whipped my head around and realized that I had done something else that was completely stupid and irresponsible…I have no flipping clue where I was. I growled to myself and slapped my forehead saying, "Oh shit."

The sun was beginning to set and the woods around me were getting dark. The night starting to catch a chill and I sat up to inspect my ankle…and it didn't look pretty. The bone was definitely fractured and the skin was swelling with this god awful shade of blue and purple decorating the sides. I rolled my eyes and glared around at the woods in furry. All of my bottled up emotions unleashed themselves and I as I let out all of my energy I screamed, "DAMN IT!"

Flames and currents of electricity spiraled around me and flared out to the trees, effectively bringing them all to the ground. I let it all rage out for a good five minutes before recalling everything back and putting the stopper on top of my emotions. I closed my eyes and forced myself to calm down. Then I slowly opened my eyes and stared at the destruction I had caused. The trees were scorched and their bark started to peel off. There was nothing really left after my rage except for the skeleton of plants that had been there before. I shook my head and muttered, "If Kurama could see this he'd have my head."

Silence answered my voice and I was forced to think about how I was going to get back to the group now. And once I had that figured out, I'd have to figure out what the hell I was going to do when I saw Hiei face-to-face again. After all, I had slapped him. No one dared touch him unless they wanted to fight him…so that basically mean that there would be a full out war the next time I saw him. I sighed and cradled my head in my heads wishing I was back home, safe and sound. Tears fell down my cheeks once again and I tried to nurse my injured pride.

"Not that was a power surge!" Jin's energetic voice rang through the air. I instantly looked up to see the red-head hovering over me with a big grin over his face. He winked and said, "Gotta watch it with you, I do. Might just end out singed."

"What are you doing here, you crazy bastard?" I asked laughing slightly. I quickly wiped away the tears that stained my face and shook my head to clear it. Then I returned my attention to the wind demon and smiled a little more realistically.

"Well, I just noticed that black haired fella from your team running around and heard him say somethin' or other about you runnin' off. Decided to look fer ya myself and well here ya are," Jin answered floating down to sit beside me. He grinned and sat there for a moment not quite sure what to do. Never being good at hiding my feelings, I knew he saw how upset I was and didn't know how to approach it.

"Oh? What led you my way? My annoying voice or the burst of power?" I asked laughing and looking away to hide my face. The last thing I wanted right now was to show this kind of weakness to Jin. It was too damsel in distress for my taste.

"Uh…listen here. The little black fella is pretty close by. Do ya want to wait here for him or do ya want and escort outta here?" Jin inquired making me look back at him. I was shocked at what he was asking and he rubbed the back of his neck saying, "I don't know what happened, but I figured you were tryin' to get away from him. Just tryin' to see if ya need any help," Jin whispered in a conspiring tone as if we were planning to pull off the greatest prank of the century or something. I laughed and shook my head.

"No, that's alright. I kind of have to deal with him…I slapped the bejesus out of him earlier and I'm sure he wants revenge for it…probably gonna kick my ass," I replied looking at the red-head with a smile. I saw his ears twitch in amusement and he floated into the air above me. Deciding it would be better for me to face Hiei without showing weakness, I slowly pushed myself to my feet and ignored the pain from the twisted ankle. My demonic body was already working on healing it and the pain was beginning to disappear.

"Well, if ya need me, I'll be floatin' around I will," Jin offered with a smile. Just as I was about to reply, Hiei suddenly appeared in the clearing before me. It was silent for a moment as the swordsman's eyes took in the scene. His sight narrowed on the flying demon directly above me and he clenched his fist. When he finally spoke, it was a clearly forced for calm kind of voice.

"It would be best if you left," Hiei directed at Jin.

"Oh? What makes you think that now?" Jin responded causing a slight vein to appear on Hiei's forehead.

"Disappear before things take a turn for the worse," Hiei stated firmly and I sensed his power spike in warning. Not wanting to watch this break into a full out fighting match I quickly stepped in to intervene.

"Cool it, Hiei," I ordered him coolly. He seemed surprised that I spoke to him in such a way, but he complied and I turned to Jin, "You gotta have better things to do than watch a klutz like me fall flat on her face every ten minutes. It's alright. Get going and I'll see you later, Jin."

The wind demon remained silent and merely nodded his head. He then took off at top speed and left me alone with the one person who had every right in the world to kick my ass up and down the full length of the island. It was my fault for slapping him earlier, but I wasn't about to just let him get away with the things he said to me earlier. I crossed my arms tightly over my chest and stared at him with a very cool stare. Silence followed Jin's departure and when at least three minutes passed, it seemed all we would do is just stand there staring at one another. Irritated and ready to just have some time to myself, I turned away from Hiei and began to walk away saying, "I really have no interest in just standing here. If you have something to say, just say it. If you want to pay me back for slapping you than do it. Otherwise, I'm tired and I'm going to go recover."

"Rin…wait," Hiei said in a tone I had never heard from him before. I glanced over my shoulder to see that he hadn't moved, but he looked like he was going to jump in front of me at any given moment. Not really caring to give him a chance, I turned back around and kept on walking. What happened next happened so fast that it made my head spin. I had to think for a moment before it all made sense.

The sound of Hiei moving at demonic speed entered my ears and I felt the wind rush past me. Not even a full second later the speed demon appeared directly in front of me and grabbed my upper arm. Then I was gently spun and pinned with my back against a nearby tree trunk. I went to push him away from me, but each of his hands pinned my wrists to my sides. We were finally face-to-face and I could see the slap mark plain as day on the side of his face. It was beyond me how I managed to put that much force into it, but I was proud that I had. I blinked at him in annoyance for a second and said, "What do you want?"

Hiei remained absolutely silent and just stared into my eyes intently. It was unnerving to be so close to the deadly swordsman and have his intense red eyes fixed on mine. His grip wasn't that of someone who was trying to hurt me, but instead like he was desperate to say something to me. Hiei looked lost for a second and I could see that he didn't know what he was going to do next. I took a breath and asked, "Hiei…what's wrong?"

What I received as an answer almost caused me to faint in complete shock. No, not even shock was a big of enough word that described what I felt like. It was like the most impossible thing ever had just walked up and slapped me across the face before turning around and sauntering away. Hiei moved forward and our lips brushed in a hesitant kiss. Once the first initial contact had been made, it was no longer unsure and I froze upon realizing what happened.

I, Rin Ishida, had just been kissed by Hiei Jaganshi…

Oh shit, I about had a heart attack. I closed my eyes and took in this new feeling. His body temperature instantly heated up my own body and his lips pressed against mine felt…calm. Soon my hands were released and I gently rested my hands on his chest. It was a great moment of calm and peace…until my stupid self broke it by pulling away and trying to catch my breath. I had been so surprised that I forgot how to breathe. I looked at him with wide eyes and said, "W…what was that?"

Hiei's eye twitched slightly and he answered, "I assumed a baka onna like you would know what a kiss was. Perhaps I overestimated your intelligence after all."

"Ok, you bloody asinine bastard, I know what a kiss is. I want to know where the hell it came from. We just went from you calling me worthless, to me slapping the shit out of you, and then you pinning me to a tree and instead of beating me black and blue like I expected you to do, you kiss me!" I gasped holding his shoulders and staring into his eyes like he had looked into mine. Instantly he seemed reluctant to speak and just looked back at me. This was the strangest thing that had happened to me since I had been dropped into their world.

His eyes said it all. Here I was, thinking that he only thought of me as a burden, when in truth I had somehow been winning him over…which was a surprise in itself. Hiei, who was always there reminding me how weak I was and how far I still had to go before I could reach any of them in level, was in fact the very one that had shown an interest in me that only my deepest, darkest fangirl could have dreamed off. All of those times he had guarded me and watched over me was not just protecting the weakest out of them all, but instead protecting someone that he genuinely cared about. It then dawned on me that all those times when Jin had been around and Ghost had said things that made him angry, it was the smallest twinge of jealousy that he would show. His critical watching me, though always ended up being used against me, was because he wanted no harm to come to me… Hiei truly cared.

Now I had to do something in return to show him that I cared as well…sorta.

"There is no way Kuwabara is catching wind of this. Or Yusuke for that matter. Not yet anyway. The last thing I need right now is them on my back and well…you might just kill Kuwabara and then you'll be in trouble with the Reikai and that's just not worth it. Agreed?"

"Indeed," Hiei said stepping back and allowing me to have some room to move. I ran my hand through my hair and closed my eyes, trying to regain what little composure I may have had. At this point, Hiei decided it was time to change the subject and said, "What was it that you wanted to say earlier?"

"What? Oh…well, I was going to whine about something that's going to happen and when it comes down to it…I may need your help to keep Yusuke from killing me," I said seriously and then launched into the situation as it stood. I neglected to mention my encounter with Toguro, but told Hiei how Genkai would sacrifice herself and when everyone found out that I knew, it was possible they would turn against me.

"Hn…that is a dangerous situation…Perhaps one you should further discuss with the old woman," Hiei said indicating the path to the apartments. Sighing, I nodded my head.

"Yeah you're right… Let's get going then," I responded and even though my ankle was still sore, I managed to match pace with him as we made our way through the trees. The walk was silent until we stood right in front of the doors that led into the building we were housed in. I stared up at the structure and said, "This is going to be a very, very, very long night."

-_Until Next Time-_

_**Ghost:**_** A kiss hm? Well, this shall be very interesting.**

_**Hiei:**_** (dead silent with no intent of saying anything)**

_**ME:**_** (still unconscious)**

_**Ghost:**_** Well, seeing as I'm the only one who is in the condition to end the chapter, I shall take my responsibility. We hope you readers enjoyed this new chapter and please leave reviews to tell us what you think. The authoress plans to be updating soon. We hope to see you soon.**


	27. Hate is a Strong Emotion

_**ME:**_** Yay! So I take it that you guys were ok with the kiss! Well, now that I know I still have a healthy number of readers still reading, I won't hesitate to throw in curve balls that you all enjoy reading. Hopefully everything coming up next is going to be pretty action packed for a while. **

_**Hiei:**_** You're ranting again baka onna.**

_**Ghost:**_** Indeed…I do believe you've had too much sugar…**

_**ME:**_** Oh hush up both of you. I can rant all I want. **

_**Hiei:**_** By what bounds? This isn't your story. You're merely writing a self insert.**

_**Ghost:**_** He does seem to have a point here.**

_**ME:**_** …shut the hell up or I will lead another mob of rabid fangirls and nowhere you two hide will be safe.**

_**Hiei and Ghost:**_** (dead quiet)**

_**ME;**_** That's what I thought. Anyway, thank you all for the reviews. Reading what you all have to say makes writing this so much fun. I don't own the story. Just my pain in the ass characters. Anyway I guess I should…(trails off and looks at the number of reviews on the story. Faints on the spot)**

_**Ghost:**_** So what do you suppose we should do with her now?**

_**Hiei:**_** This is my official break. I'm going to go somewhere where it's nice and quiet. I'll be back when she revives herself. I'm sure you can handle everything until then. (leaves)**

_**Ghost:**_** Hm…Well, I suppose this shouldn't be too difficult. Chapter Start. **

**(Sorry if there are a few errors in this chapter, or at least more so than usual. My computer hasn't been working with word check and I seem to miss a little bit.)**

_**Chapter 27: Hate is a Strong Emotion**_

"Yeah you're right… Let's get going then," I responded and even though my ankle was still sore, I managed to match pace with him as we made our way through the trees. The walk was silent until we stood right in front of the doors that led into the building we were housed in. I stared up at the structure and said, "This is going to be a very, very, very long night."

"Hn," Hiei answered, but waited for me to make the first move into the building. Even though the situation looming over my head was a disturbing one, I felt somewhat at ease. In the very least, after all was said and done, Hiei would understand what happened and that would be al I could even hope to ask for. I could possibly reason with the rest of them, but if I happened to make the wrong move with the fire-using swordsman, it was almost guaranteed that I was dead as soon as he demanded it. On the slim possibility that I managed to get away the first time, Hiei would track me and strike me down on the very spot on which I stood. That was a cold hard fact. We walked over to the elevator and stepped in. My comrade pushed the button and in an instant we were on our way.

"So, exactly how worried was everyone?" I asked quietly.

"Not at all. No one even knows that you were…missing," Hiei answered shortly and looked away from me. It was clear that the memory of the kiss was still fresh in his mind. Fighting back the blush that came to my face, I couldn't help but think about it myself. When had he first started showing an interest in me? When had Hiei gone from seeing me as the weak fighter to the one he showed a little more interest in? The demon was always harsh when it came to me and I knew well that he would remain that way, whether or not a relationship between us sparked or not. In all honesty, I was counting on that because if he acted any other way, I knew from that point on I had done so much more than just screw over the story and lives of these people. So, how in the hell could I tell what was happening to me?

"Uh-huh…keeping your backside covered weren't you?" I laughed as I leaned against the elevator wall.

"I merely wanted to keep those fools from pestering me with questions about what happened. Sometimes, dealing with you and the trouble you cause if far less annoying that dealing with any of them. Especially that bouncy ferry-girl," Hiei growled as the door opened and stepped out. Acting like a true gentleman, he placed his hand in from of the door to keep it from closing on me while I hobbled out into the hallway. I glanced around and noticed that the hall was devoid of any activity what so ever. I cocked my head to the side in confusion. Sensing my ignorance Hiei said, "Many are down eating dinner. Our group however is in the room."

"Thank you," I said as we finally made it to the door. Glad for the chance to be off of my ankle, I pushed open the door and hobbled in. To my surprise, everyone except for Genkai, Kurama, and Ghost had fallen asleep. There were multiple sleeping bodies sprawled out across the room and the three looked up from their game of cards. A devious smirk broke across Ghost's face and before he had a chance to open his mouth I said, "Genkai, I need to speak with you a moment."

"Alright," she said looking down at her cards. She sniffed and said, "Oh well. It wasn't a winning hand anyway. Why don't you two teach Hiei to play and when I get back, I can put all three of you boys in your place."

There was a hushed laugh while I went into my room and waited for the old Reiki Master to follow me. She soon did and knowing that this was private, shut the door behind her. Plopping on the bed, I sighed and tended to my ankle saying, "You'll never guess who I had a meeting with today and somehow made it out without a scratch."

"What do you mean? And how did you injure yourself? You are aware that there are others who would be more than happy to do that for you," Genkai said with a smile. She walked over and sat down beside me on the bed. I was surprised when she gingerly took my ankle in her hand and sent some of her healing energy into it.

"You need to conserve your strength!" I cried in alarm and tried to stop her from giving away any more of her energy to me. The old woman slapped my hands away and stared at me seriously. Seeing her look, I shut up and looked down in defeat.

"You know as well as I that from this point out I'm living on borrowed time. It's going to be cut short soon and I have a few more words of wisdom to pass down to you before that happens. You're still my pupil. Now tell me about this "meeting" you were mentioning," Genkai commanded causing me to instantly fall silent for a minute or so.

"Alright…well…When I was in the forest earlier…I encountered Morte and Toguro…" from that point on, I just gushed about everything that was said and everything that happened. I didn't spare her any details and told her the things that I didn't even let Hiei know. At that moment, I trusted Genkai more than any of the others and her experience was priceless to me. She had to know everything so that when I asked for her help, she would know everything that was going on. I was a mere child and Genkai was the adult who would lead me to the right path…at least that's what I hoped.

"You just seem to be the center of all the trouble don't you? It seems that Morte had big plans for you indeed…and Toguro still has some humanity remaining inside of him. He could've destroyed you to know what would happen at the end of his battle with Yusuke. Yet, he still let you live. How has a reckless child such as yourself survived this long in our world?" she asked looking at me as she finished massaging my ankle. It no longer was in pain and I stood on it to test it. Genkai had returned it to perfect condition.

"Sheer Dumb Luck," was the only answer I could provide to her. She shared a laugh with me about that one and I sat back down on the bed to say, "What do I do, Genkai? The others have to find out about me sooner, but if I spring this on them now… They'll hate me for knowing about what's going to happen to you. They'll hate me because I didn't tell them or try to do anything about it…"

"Rin, you've learned a lesson that they cannot. This isn't your world and your fate is not entirely bound by what happens to us. Although, I'm sure you'll argue differently, you must think about this rationally. You were born and raised in another reality; a reality that gave you no choice but to let time go on and take what it wanted from you. You didn't have the power to fight it, nor did you have the ability to know what was coming next. You were forced to live in uncertainty and though it hurt, you learned to accept the way fate molded your world. You learned to accept when a loved one died. In your world, there's no coming back from that. The reality that bore you in some ways is far harsher than ours. Here, those of us with power have hope. In your world, those with true hope are seen as fools. You are stronger in that respect. My death may hurt you, but you will rise up and when Yusuke and the others see that, their hate will dissipate. You must give it time and endure. Until then, don't do anything stupid that I will have to lecture you about in the next world and I hope not to be seeing you anytime soon," Genkai said soothingly. Her words were anything but comforting and I couldn't help feeling as though hopelessness had set in around me. For once I didn't want to be strong and endure. For once since this whole thing happened, I wanted to be weak and have someone else deal with everything and take care of me.

Yet, that was selfish….It was my fault that Morte threatened them anyway. It was my fault if their lives had been taken off of the path that I knew. All because I simply existed in their world. Taking a deep breath, I nodded and said, "Thank you very much, Genkai. I needed that…I promise I won't do anything stupid."

The old woman looked over me closely for a minute and then shook her head. She smiled and said, "You're a good liar. You know there'll be something you do very soon that will make me want to knock you on your ass, but I at least give you credit for trying."

"Well, it seems you know me well enough," I laughed and shook my head. I yawned and rubbed my neck. It had been a long day and I felt it was time for some much needed rest. Genkai seemed to sense that as well because she bid me goodnight and then left the room. I lounged back on the mattress and soon felt myself drift into sleep.

_-The Next Morning-_

Energy pulsed through my body and I awoke with a start. It wasn't long before I was on my feet and glancing around, trying to find the source of what dragged me out of sleep in the first place. My mind raced to catch up with the rest of my body and once it had, I knew what caused me abrupt awakening. I could sense Toguro's power and it was clear… Today was going to be Genkai's last battle. Whirling into action, I quickly got dressed and fixed myself up to be a presentable as possible. My injuries had mostly closed up and somewhat healed after a goodnight's sleep and I darted out of the room. It was still early enough that no one, at least to my knowledge, was awake yet and I took my leave of the room.

It wouldn't be long before Genkai decided that it was time to finish what had been started between her and Toguro. I couldn't explain it, but some crazy emotion deep inside of me decided that it was my job to be there as a witness. Maybe something would happen that hadn't in the manga. Maybe there would be some sort of escape for me to disappear into the world in which I belonged, though I highly doubted that. I didn't know what drove me to go, but there was no stopping it. I had to be there and no one else could see me leave with her. That was why I moved a ways away from the apartment and sat in the shadows of the trees to wait.

I watched. I watched as people went in and out of the building. I watched as people I knew and those I didn't went along their way, not knowing the darkness that today would hold. I watched as Hiei left to train and I watched as the other demons that were now our friends went to visit Yusuke. I watched as Kurama left to watch the upcoming match for Toguro's team. I watched and hoped with everything I had, that something would go right today…but all I could do was watch…and wonder why did I had to be drawn into all this…I would have to watch someone I cared for be struck down before my very eyes and do nothing about it. I hated the fact that all I could do was watch.

It was quite a few hours before she finally emerged through the doors. I could see the age on her face clear as day. The fighter didn't have a hope of winning the next fight and she knew it as well as I did. I had to admire her for that courage; the kind of courage that I could only hope to have. She had said her goodbyes, even though the others didn't have a clue about it, and was facing her next opponent head on. This was the kind of person a mere child like me could look up to.

When she walked past the tree in which I had hid myself, I leapt from the branch and swiftly fell into step behind her, as though I had been there the whole time. The fighter slowly came to a stop and without looking back said, "Are you sure you want to be there for this?"

"I'm sure," was all I responded with. Not much else needed to be said. Not when we knew what was going to happen. So, the two of us continued the walk in silence. I didn't even dare to speculate at when Genkai was feeling or thinking of during the walk and I did everything I could not to think of anything. Genkai…she was my teacher too… At least that's how I saw her. Whether she accepted me as her pupil or not was irrelevant to me. I didn't want to see her die…but I knew she was going to be gone for long…but it still hurt.

We stepped into the clearing and there he stood. The huge mass that was named Toguro. He loomed over the both of us and I took my cue to step back and stand beside the outer ring of the clearing. It was like he ignored my presence and just fixed his sight on Genkai as he said, "So… we come to the big event."

A tremble shook my body. How could he talk so coldly about someone he once cared so deeply about? Yes, they went their separate ways with their choices. Yes, they never agreed about what the other had decided, but could it really be so simple to cut all emotional ties and kill someone they once thought of so highly.

"You've aged, Genkai," Toguro stated and calmly removed his shirt and allowed it to fall to the ground. I clutched the tree tightly and resisted the urge to fall apart.

"You haven't, not since I…last saw you fifty years ago," Genkai growled staring at him coldly. It was obvious that she was thinking back on the time she saw him all those years ago when she was so much younger and so much more powerful. I could only imagine what it felt like to stand before your old comrade, so much older and weaker than ever and he still remained the exact same, like time meant nothing to him…which it didn't. Chills raced down my spine. It was disturbing…seeing someone who should've aged so much and yet looked like he was still in his prime. It wasn't natural and yeah, I had witnessed a lot of things that weren't exactly natural since I had fallen into their world, but this was by far one of the weirdest things for me. This of course was because I feared time myself. I didn't want to grow old and I knew so well that it would happen a lot faster than I was ready for. Yes, I understood Toguro's choice…but whether or not I could make the same decision is up for debate. Genkai's eyes narrowed on him and she continued, "Half a century…Who'd have thought I'd be in the tournament again after so long? And to be summoned here by my former teammate, no less. Why am I here Toguro?"

The merciless mass of muscles merely smirked and replied, "Why ask, when you already know? Besides, I'm sure that if you truly didn't know, you could've asked that trembling girl over there. She seems to know more than any of us." At this he looked over at me and I froze on the spot. I bit down on the corner of my lip and took a breath to calm myself down. Toguro had let me go before and even told me that I wasn't worth anything to him. Genkai was the only that he had in his sights today and soon it would be Yusuke. I didn't have to worry about it. Then again, I was known for worrying about things I didn't need to all the time…and this was no different. Yet, Toguro turned his attention back on Genkai and continued, "This is about the merciless passage of time, Genkai. Why did you come masked? Did you not want me to see it effects?"

The Reiki Master merely snorted and stood her ground. She fixed him with such a stare that I could almost feel the ice in her eyes and hear it in her voice as she said, "Hardly. I just didn't want to get a throng of petty demons all worked up over my presence. I saw no point in adding to the legions already after my head."

Toguro thought this over for half a second and then continued to smirk, saying, "I see…so have you passed it on?"

Genkai was quiet. I could see her literally shake her head and have her thoughts drift away to Yusuke. Her pupil that would end up facing the monster that stood in front of her; the same one who would avenge her death and then be the reason why she was brought back. She then turned her thoughts back on the task at hand, her final battle. She closed her eyes and answered, "Yes, it's now with Yusuke."

A demonic grin came over Toguro's face and I stepped back in fear. He no longer looked even remotely human to me as he said, "All right. I've no more use for you, then. That is, I've no more reason to bear the sight of your decrepitude."

Instantly he shifted into what Genkai called his "Combat Mode" and he began to power up. I could literally see his aura as it surged through the air. Then it hit me across the chest. The sheer amount of power he had knocked me off my feet and I hit the ground sprawling to regain my balance. This went unnoticed by either of the two fighters as they disappeared into their own world.

"Getting into combat mode, eh? You haven't changed a bit," Genkai almost smiled as she remembered back on her days with Toguro; back when they actually cared for one another on a much deeper level. Yet, as her memory progressed, her eyes became cold and she looked bitter and angry for half a second. She too went into a fighting stance and pointed at Toguro saying, "There was nothing wrong with it! Yet you sold your soul in order to avoid it, to cling to youth and power!"

"Then I suppose…we can't agree…or allow the other to live," Toguro said with a strange little smile. I sensed his power surge one final time and then without hesitation, he lunged at Genkai shouting, "This is it, Genkai!"

At the same time, a far distance away I felt Yusuke's power flash and knew that he was awake. Now, it was only a matter of time before the small illusion of peace that I once had with the group would come crashing down around me. Yet surprisingly that wasn't what was important to me right then. It was watching Genkai barely dodge out of the way of Toguro ripping out her heart and shooting him at the same time. Her attack blew a huge chunk out of his upper arm and injured the woman's other shoulder. She skid back away from him as quickly as she could and the mass of muscles merely straightened up and looked at the torn piece of cloth that he now had in his hand.

"I was going for your heart…You've learned to dodge my reach, I see," Toguro said ignoring the lower half of his arm which was close to falling off. Genkai struggled to regain her composure and was feeling her power drained from her. Meanwhile, Toguro's arm began to heal itself as he looked at her saying, "I used forty-five percent. I realize now that wasn't respectful. You deserve eighty percent potency at least!"

Instantly, his muscles exploded across his body and just as I had managed to get to me feet, the power he expelled sent me crashing into the tree I was using for support. I flew like a rag doll against its trunk and then slid to the base of it with all of the wind completely knocked out of me. When I looked up again, Toguro was walking toward Genkai like the badass we all knew him to be. Terror shook my entire body and I thanked all heavenly powers above that he had somehow decided that I was of no interest to him, despite the fact that I knew what would soon become of him. I took a breath and tried to remain as unnoticeable as I could.

"Only four people have seen me in this form. Four living that is, not including that trembling female over there – my brother, Bui, Karasu… and you. But it'll be three again soon!" Toguro shouted and threw multiple energy attacks at Genkai. There was a twist though. Some of his attacks came my way as well. I was surprised, but instead of losing focus I called up my demonic shield and bounced them back. They disappeared before reaching Toguro though and it was once again like nothing happened. The monster lunged forward once again and called out, "Technique be hanged! Power is pure strength! Pushed by the thrusting fist, the very air can devastate!"

He attempted to punch my comrade into the very ground on which she stood, but she darted away seconds before his fist connected. Instead, he punched the ground and the crater erupted in the ground. It was like watching glass shatter. The ground flew into the air and shards went in every way possible. My shield faithfully protected me and I watched Genkai dodge in the air. She stared at Toguro angrily and launched another shot at him. He merely brought his hand up and caught the attack like it was a baseball in a catcher's mitt. Toguro emotionlessly crushed the attack beneath his fingertips and and sniffed in contempt, "This is your best? It was a mistake to leave this until you'd gained a student. I should've ended your life long ago while you were still strong and beautiful. You're not Genkai…just her fading echo."

Genkai's eyes went blank for half a second before balling her fists in anger. She glared at Toguro and with such emotion in her eyes that I had never seen her use before, she snapped, "I am Genkai! And you won't kill me!"

"Oh but you will die," Toguro said as he began powering up for the final attack. Genkai likewise focused herself and I sensed both of their powers spike before me. Genkai, the one who continuously put up with my stupidity and took me in to train when she didn't have to, summoned the last bit of strength she had and I watched as for a brief moment she reverted back into her younger form. Her former comrade rushed her for the final time and she prepared her attack. A flash erupted before my eyes and all I saw was the blood splatter through the air. I winced and forced myself to watch as Genkai's eyes went blank for a second. Her limp body fell and landed on the ground with a dull, muffled thud. The Reiki Master was motionless as she laid there on the ground and I watched as her blood began to pool around her. It crept along the blades of grass and oozed through the clumps of dirt. I could still see her breathing…but she was as good as dead from that point on. My eyes burned.

There was the sound of rushing air and the faint sound of breath leaving someone's lungs. Yusuke had arrived on the scene and I couldn't keep myself calm anymore. I brought my knees up to my chest and silently cried.

"You're late," Toguro stated calmly as he turned around and stared at the Underworld Detective. I slowly lifted my head and wiped away my tears. The sadness I felt was quickly pushed back and I slowly got to me feet with my face completely emotionless. This was it. I met Yusuke's eyes as he stared at Genkai in shock and looked at her as well. Toguro, being the cold asinine bastard that he always is, continued speaking like nothing had happened, "Time, my friend, is cruel. Her last shot, infused with all the power at her command, barely tickled."

"Genkai," Yusuke breathed and then suddenly disappeared from where he was standing. I managed to see him run from where he was and skid to a stop on his knees beside his teacher. While he tried to reach Genkai, I fixed my gaze on Toguro and waited to get his attention. As Genkai went into her explanation of what had happened, the huge fighter glanced back and made eye-contact with me. I took a breath.

"_I need to speak with you and your team later. Tonight would probably be the best time. I have a request that needs someone with high connections to sanction,"_ I said telepathically to him. My eyes flashed at Yusuke for a moment and fear rose in my chest, _"That is if he doesn't kill me first for knowing what was going to happen to her."_

Toguro was silent for a moment. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that he was considering my request and there was a small hint of curiosity in his voice when he replied, _"Drop by the arena and follow the hallway with the green wall on the left side of the entrance. You'll know which door is ours."_

Without another word, he turned his attention back to Yusuke and I did the same. There was no use in trying to beat a dead horse and get more out of him than I already had. Genkai was on her last legs, but before she faded out I heard her whisper something she hadn't before, "Rin…is special…She knows what's in store for all of us. Protect her Yusuke. She's too much of a dimwit to keep herself out of trouble…and forgive her…"

I covered my mouth and couldn't stop the tears from breaking through my eyes. I fell to my knees and fell into the background as Toguro took front stage once again, "If you, her student, had entered this world earlier, I'd have been spared the sight of this aged mockery. Those who live to fight must either grow stronger – or die. She died…the moment she chose to stay human, and waste everything she had attained."

Yusuke trembled in rage and didn't move t even look at Toguro as he growled with such evident hate in his voice that it caused my insides to go cold, "Shut up, you filthy dog…or I'll tear you apart right here and now!"

Toguro smiled and sneered, "Then I'll say this…Your master was a belly-crawling maggot!"

Yusuke turned around faster than I could see and tried to lay his attack into Toguro. This of course backfired and he was sent flying back through a multitude of trees after Toguro's killer punch. Her chuckled maniacally and muttered his thoughts about the upcoming fight as he turned to leave. Toguro didn't leave any other parting sentiments and soon, I was alone, waiting for Yusuke to come back and lay into like Toguro had done to him. I slowly drug myself to my knees and crawled over to where Genkai's body was. If it hadn't been for Morte, I wouldn't have had to watch any of that. I wouldn't have had to see Genkai suffer and be brutally killed only feet in front of me. At that moment, hate didn't even begin to describe the feelings I held toward that manipulative wench who called herself Morte.

I bowed formally in Judo style beside Genkai and cried, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry for every moronic thing I've done and I'm sorry for what I'm about to do Genkai. Please forgive me! I…I just want to make sure nothing happened to them because of me…you know what I mean. I don't want to bring anymore trouble to them…so from this point on, I'm not hiding anymore. I'm facing Morte, head on!"

After I had a breakdown of my own, I was able to get to my feet and wait for Yusuke's return. That didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would and whether I was ready for it or not, I found myself standing before Yusuke who couldn't bring himself to make eye-contact with me. I steeled my emotions for what was coming next and flashed back to what he had done when he thought that I was after Keiko. This would be so much worse. Finally, with his hands balled into tight fists, Yusuke fixed me with a glare full of anger and said, "What did she mean?"

"She…she meant what she said…I know everything that's supposed to happen to you guys…Since you met me…I've known every move you'll make and everything you'll do…I know which fights you'll win and which you'll lose…and…I knew…"

It was hard to finish what I meant to say, but I didn't need to. Yusuke wasn't an idiot and he knew what I meant. His arms began to tremble as he tried to keep himself calm, "You knew she was going to die…You knew that Toguro was going to brutally murder her…and you did NOTHING?" Yusuke snatched me up by the collar of my shirt and jerked me around with his eyes flashing as he continued, "After everything she's done for you, after every time she covered your ass, you just let her get killed? What kind of fighter are you? You didn't stand up and try to stop her! Are you just stupid or do you really not care what happens to any of us? Have you just been using us the whole time?"

"What the hell did you want me to do, Yusuke? Even as weak as she was, Genkai could still mercilessly kick my ass back to where I came from and do you really expect me to do any better against that mass of muscles that we call Toguro! Of course I care… You all have taken me in and made me stronger, but there was nothing I could do! I only know what's going to happen! I don't have the power to change it! I'm nothing compared to any of you. I'm a mere speck of dust who couldn't hope to hold a candle to any of you!" I snapped back in anger as tears were still coming down my face. It made sense for him to blame me for Genkai's death, but what did he expect me to do? Hate flashed through his eyes and I felt his anger stab into my being. It was astounding to know that he could despise me so much. It was even more astounding that I still felt the annoyance swell inside of me. There was nothing I could've possibly done. If I had to them what was coming before they were ready to accept it, then they would've tried to change it. That would've caused more harm than good. Genkai knew that too and so did Hiei. I had to be content with that fact…but it was hard to be content with the fact that I knew he hated me so much.

"You…are nothing but a coward!" Yusuke shouted as he suddenly threw his fist into my face. The sheer force of the impact knocked me senseless for a moment and I was sent sprawling across the ground. My body flipped like a ragdoll as it flew across the ground and I came to stop at the trunk of a tree. I spat a mouthful of blood out of my mouth and was lucky to not have even a chipped tooth after all of that. Slowly pushing myself to my feet, I watched Yusuke walk over to where Genkai's body rested. He bowed his head and with balled fists growled, "I can't believe she allowed this to happen. That stupid old hag!"

"What happens now, Yusuke…Where do I fit into all this, now that you know the truth?" I asked feeling my confidence fade as I spoke. A voice screamed in my head that I shouldn't have opened my mouth and by the sheer surge of power he allowed out, I had to agree with it. I stuck with it anyway and just waited for the answer.

"I don't know where you fit in…I do know one thing…I don't forgive you," Yusuke growled turning his body away from me. I felt myself be officially shunned and I knew that from that point on, at least until something else unexpected happened, that it would be best for my not to return to the group. Instantly, fear bubbled up inside of me and my mind was swimming with the many thoughts that ended in the same place, death.

"I'm sorry, Yusuke…I didn't belong from the beginning…I was lying to myself, thinking that I really could stay…" I whispered as he picked up the old woman's body and walked away. A wave of ice washed over me and I felt as though Yusuke had done a lot more than just punching me in the jaw. I had reached that point of being where the eye can't see; shrouded in shadows of shame and hate. The mere mention of my name could very possibly be frowned on…So, now I had to figure out what to do from there on out. I was finally officially alone. All the times where I felt like I had been abandoned were just teen angst compared to this. This was true isolation.

The wind picked up again and there were only a few hours left of sunlight. Figuring where I was, I jumped into the highest tree and looked in the direction in which I thought the stadium was. There is stood, looming at the end of the forest. A place that struck fear into my chest just by hearing it mentioned. Not knowing what strange person possessed my cowardly heart, I began jumping from tree branch to tree branch; making slow but steady progress to the arena. The wind whistled in my ears and I faintly heard the sound of life. As I passed the apartments, I saw the girls standing just outside and Keiko raised her arm to me. I glanced back on them and then turned my head, officially cutting off all the emotions I had. From this point on, it was very possible that I had become their enemy. The girls didn't need that on their heads. I continued on my way and soon I stood before the huge entrance of the stadium. Considering it was empty, there was a quiet rumble that reminded me of being in the belly of a beast, waiting to die. What I was about to do was stupid…and if Genkai had known before she died, she probably would've beaten the sense into my head one way or another.

I walked in and instantly looked for the hallway that Toguro told me about. It wasn't long before an eerie green glow came from a hidden hallway off to the side and I instantly knew that was where I needed to go. Summoning the fading courage I had, I made my way down the hallway. The disturbingly large fighter wasn't kidding when he said I'd know their room when I came to it. The pure murderous intent that flowed from the place stopped me dead in my tracks three feet from the door. If I thought I was afraid of them before, it was nothing compared to now. All that stood between me and getting murked was the thin wooden door in front of me…the very door that I screwed up the courage to knock on and wait for an answer.

"Well, I have to admit that I'm surprised. I didn't honestly expect you to come," Toguro said as he opened the door to look at me. A rush of air flew past me and I blinked. In the time it took to open my eyes again, Toguro's brother had flexed his hand at me and his nails now held me in place of where I stood. If I even breathed the wrong way, they would cut me across each side of my neck, face, and arms. Resisting all urge to cry out and flinch, I stood my ground and even managed to put on an emotionless façade. My hair just managed to fall back beside my face after the rush of the attack when Toguro continued, "You've done more than jump out of the frying pan and into the fire by showing up here."

"I don't plan on just leaving. I have a proposition about my fight with Morte that I would like to run by you to get it approved. I'm tired of waiting for this," I answered narrowing my eyes on the figure that now hovered just behind the rest of them. Morte looked over me with cold eyes and a smug little grin on her face. My anger flared and lightning cracked just beside my head. Elder Toguro withdrew and seemed irritated that I had even dared to do such a thing to him. Younger Toguro motioned for them all to step back and gestured me to enter the room in the most gentlemanly way possible. This display of manners threw me off for a second and I allowed him to sweep me into the room. It wasn't until the door closed behind me that I felt the stupidity of that choice hit me across the face. There I stood; utterly alone and face with the team of fighters that only intended my demise.

"What could a little pup like you possibly have to offer me?" Morte asked with a flick of her hair that instantly caused me to arch my eyebrow in annoyance. I was quick to hide this however and I looked at her with indifference.

"I'm tired of this game of cat and mouse. You know as well as I do that we're going to end up fighting Morte. One way or another and it's about time we stopped dancing around it. I'm well aware of the amount of power you've gained since we last fought. I know you've been biding your time and testing me, trying to see where my power has gotten to. You're never going to know exactly how strong I've become. So here's an idea that's been bothering me for a while now. How about we bump it up? Instead of waiting for the finals, with all those annoying creatures trying to distract us and cause more trouble than they're worth, let's finish this tomorrow. Just you and me and the referees. A fight to the end."

Silence met my request and I had trouble breathing. What the hell did I just say?

_**-Until Next Time-**_

_**Ghost:**_** Well this is indeed interesting. According to the authoress' notes here, she just finished the tenth volume of Yu-Yu Hakusho and would like to add a little something before she gets into the actual eleventh volume. It may take up a chapter or two itself.**

_**ME:**_** (waking up) Ugh…yeah, what he said. What's coming up next is a little detour from the manga and I swear that it won't interrupt the storyline at all. For all the combat junkies out there, I think this is something that you all will like. Incase I didn't throw a good enough curveball as it is. And for those who don't like Morte… You'll have to read what's coming up. **

_**Ghost:**_** (Distracted) I wonder where Hiei might have gone to.**

_**ME:**_** …that's a good question…I'm not really sure…Well, while I go look for my more violent muse, I hope you all will leave me some love and tell me what you think. I gotta go find the master of the Jagan… I'm so using chocolate ice cream as bait.**

_**Ghost:**_** That's rather ingenious. I will aid you.**

_**ME:**_** Thanks again for reading! See ya next chapter people! Review!**


	28. Time To Kick Ass And Take Names

_**ME:**_** HA HA! I found him! (holds out a whistle)**

_**Ghost:**_** Is that what I think it is?**

_**ME:**_** If you're referring to the whistle that Botan used when they were looking for him to rescue Yusuke from Genkai's little test.**

_**Ghost:**_** I thought so… (reaches for a pair of special ear-plugs and then gives the thumbs up)**

_**ME:**_** I hope this fall hurts enough to make a point and not enough to make him want to kill me. Well, here we go! (blows the whistle)**

_**Hiei:**_** (crashes out of a nearby tree and hits the ground with a thud) Damn. Bakka onna, where did you get that?**

_**ME:**_** Botan wasn't paying any attention and I know where she hides all of the detective devices from Yusuke. Too bad she didn't think about me when she did though. Although, I'm sure she didn't think I would muster up the courage to use them against anyone on the team.**

_**Hiei:**_** It's about time I destroyed that.**

_**ME:**_** Too bad I knew you were thinking about that. I've taken precautions to make sure that this little whistle and I stay behind a conveniently placed shield at all times.**

_**Ghost:**_** You are screwed, my friend.**

_**Hiei:**_** (growls) Very well…I will bide my time. The authoress only owns her characters. **

_**Ghost:**_** This continues to be amusing. Chapter Start.**

_**Chapter 28: Time to Kick Ass and Take Names**_

"I'm tired of this game of cat and mouse. You know as well as I do that we're going to end up fighting Morte. One way or another and it's about time we stopped dancing around it. I'm well aware of the amount of power you've gained since we last fought. I know you've been biding your time and testing me, trying to see where my power has gotten to. You're never going to know exactly how strong I've become. So here's an idea that's been bothering me for a while now. How about we bump it up? Instead of waiting for the finals, with all those annoying creatures trying to distract us and cause more trouble than they're worth, let's finish this tomorrow. Just you and me and the referees. A fight to the end."

Silence met my request and I had trouble breathing. What the hell did I just say?

"Do you mean to say that you wish to put your future in the hands of your opponents? Do you honestly trust us to keep up our end of the bargain instead of killing you to be rid of a minor annoyance that could hinder us at most five minutes? If you were a more of a possible threat we would be far more inclined to listen to you, but as it stands now, you are nothing more than a child," Karasu stated as he swiftly moved to stand behind me and placed his hands on my shoulder. Chills raced through my spine and I glanced out of the corner of my eyes and his finger nails. I knew well that without even a second of notice that he could create a bomb out of his energy and place it on the very place where his hands were. That fact alone almost made my heart stop. Elder Toguro moved forward again, flexing his hands, and I took it a tight breath. Damn it. I knew this was a bad idea from the get go and my stubborn mind still made me go on with it! I stood in the room with the most dangerous fighters of the tournament and hadn't thought of a plan to defend myself. How stupid could one person be? Especially after said person had already been warned not to do something as stupid as this!

"I think it would be better if we left this decision up to Morte. After all, this is her opponent. It would be unfair to steal her victory from under her nose. Don't you all have your own enemies to think about instead?" Younger Toguro quickly intervened and advanced on his teammates. A tense moment of silence followed before they quickly stepped down and I reached out for a chair. The fear finally hit my legs and they collapsed beneath me. Toguro caught my upper arm and directed me to the most comfortable chair they had. There was no energy to fight him, frankly I didn't want to anyway, and as I sat down, I took this time to really look around, considering I hadn't taken the time to look around before then. It seemed that I had suffered an extreme case of tunnel vision.

It was a small room, almost cozy. Now that everyone had stopped crowding around me, they took up different places around the room. Karasu seemed most at home in the shadows of the room where the walls met to form the corners. His dark eyes were watching me very closely and I felt my skin crawl. The memory of what he could and would do crept through my thoughts and I swallowed, hoping that he wouldn't be able to get his hands on me. Thankfully, he soon dismissed me and looked off somewhere else, no doubt thinking about his battle to come with Kurama. Bui lingered by the window and was so focused on the rain that I was nothing more than a mere speck of dust. That was just fine by me and I wasn't about to draw his attention to me if I didn't have to. Elder Toguro seemed interested in tearing me to shreds on the spot, but was held back, which I was grateful for. Toguro merely sat down on the couch across from me and waited for Morte to advance closer to us. I too focused my attention on the female and said, "What do you say, Morte? We can finally settle the score and decide which one of us is stronger than the other. Why wait?"

The demoness snorted and flicked her hair as she narrowed her eyes on me, "Do you have a death wish? You come to our team, unannounced and start trying to throw what little weight you have around? Why should I fight you fair and square when right now, you're defenseless and nothing could stop me."

"I don't really have a reason except for the fact that I know about the Yin-Yang Eye now," I answered sharply causing her to freeze on the spot. Instantly, I sent the barriers up around my mind and effectively blocked any way she had into my thoughts. I could feel her Jagan assault the walls I had thrown up and I had to thank god that Hiei had trained me so well. I quickly decided that it would be in my best interest to bluff and do so quickly. I knew the name of this…thing that she wanted, but I didn't know much else about it. So, what I needed to do was make her think that fighting me fair and square would get her the information she wanted and then wait until the fight for her to figure out that it was a lie. I arched my eyebrow and said, "You can keep trying to use me, but it won't be as easy as it was before. I'm not going to just be a puppet anymore Morte. So, agreeing to this fight tomorrow would be in your best interest in case you still plan to get that item by using me."

"And what do you know of it?" she sneered as she suddenly lunged at me in fury. Surprised by this sudden display of violence, although in hindsight it should have been expected, I reacted as quickly as I could. Before I knew what was happening, I was behind the couch I had just been sitting on and had my fingers wrapped tightly around Morte's throat as I pinned her to the wall. My chakram pinned her arms to the wall and I was glaring at her in anger. Everything had moved so fast that it took some time for my mind to catch up and I struggled to focus on what had happened. It only took a few seconds for it all to be clear. Once it had, I grinned.

Morte had lunged at me from where she had been standing. My instincts had seen this coming and were already tense from the situation I was in. I had jumped to my feet as soon as she moved and had flipped over the back of the couch. I landed quite gracefully and had plenty of time to access the situation. Unfortunately for Morte, she wasn't so lucky. Due to her sudden rush of rage, Morte was over balanced and I reached out to snatch the collar of her shirt. My fingers curled tightly around the cloth of her shirt and I yanked her back. Once cleared of the back of the couch, I slammed my foot into her stomach and she smacked into the wall with her head thudding against it. Seconds later my chakram were off of my hips and I slammed them into the wall, pinning Morte to it as well. Satisfied that she was unable to move, I grabbed her throat and forced her to look at me. Now, I smiled and said, "Well, you're just as defenseless as I was a few minutes ago. So, how about we all sit down and have a nice little chat that doesn't involve us trying to rip each other's throats out."

The demoness' eyes flashed violently and I merely tightened my hold on her throat. Not used to the tables being turned, Morte struggled for a moment more before finally giving up and staring at me with hate filled eyes. A sense of calm and power washed over me and for once, it was pretty nice having the upper-hand in the fight. I released her and pulled my weapons out of the wall. There was a tense moment of us having a little stare down before she flicked her hair and giggled in the most demonic way possible. She fluttered her eyelashes at Toguro and said, "Well, the pup has gotten stronger; much stronger than I thought was possible. I would enjoy a chance to test her without a crowd of screaming idiots demanding that I end the fight as quickly as I can. Perhaps I can show her once and for all that she was only meant to be a pawn and nothing else. The puppet should know that it is the master that controls what happens."

"I'll show you "pup" if you keep opening your mouth," I growled at her wolfishly.

"Well, it seems that you two have settled on a deal. I'll go arrange it with the higher ups. Try not to finish the job and make my effort meaningless," Toguro said turning to leave. Silence met his request and he just left the room, assuming that all would be well. I wasn't sure if I felt the same way, but I merely moved over to the couch and sat down, exuding a sense of confidence and power that I did not exactly feel. At least I was improving my acting skills and it would only be a matter of time before I could act like a strong confident fighter even when I didn't feel like it. Morte sat across from me and crossed her arms and legs. Her eyes were searching my face for any kind of weakness and I could sense her trying to break into the barriers of my mind. Remembering the things Hiei had taught me, I reinforced the walls and kept her at bay. Finally, she resorted to a more direct method and asked, "What drove you to take this path and face me so soon? If you had waited, you would have more time to train and prepare. Not that it would have done too much for you."

I sighed and closed my eyes. The only thing on my mind at the point was watching Genkai die. Yeah, I knew that Yusuke had to lose her because that would make him strong. It would be the kick in the ass he needed to use his full power and even then, he would need a second kick the day of, but why did I have to be so close to her? Even when I knew what her fate would be…and if everything went according to the manga, she would eventually pass away. Maybe it would've been easier if she had died of natural causes. Maybe it would've been easier if I hadn't actually thought of her as my teacher…There were a lot of maybes that were going through my mind, but none of them mattered. It already happened. Just as it was meant to. So, from this point on, it was about time I took my own future into my own hands and stopped waiting for everyone else to decide what was going to happen. I wasn't going to sit on the sidelines and wait for Morte to decide to attack me. I wasn't going to wait for the guys to come save me either. This was my choice and I was going to follow it through and frankly I didn't care if it would kill me. For once, I was doing something on my own merit.

"Why train a few extra days when you can feel your power at its peak right then and there? Why take the chance of losing that edge and getting beat into the ground. Frankly, I want to finish this right now. You are no longer in control," I answered opening my eyes and fixing a defiant stare on her. A smirk crossed her mouth and our auras drifted around the room. Both of us were sizing up the other and getting ready for the fight that was to come. She chuckled and looked at me in pity.

"We shall see. It's a shame you're so naïve," Morte said shaking her head condescendingly. She leaned forward and continued, "You see I have many advantages over the one you have. One, I've trained far more than you have. I've taken more time to grow and have endured more strenuous fighting styles than you could even hope to dream. Two, I know more about the situation than you do and I'm well aware of you knowing what's supposed to be. Three, I've had someone watching you when I cannot. I see who you've grown attached to and who you value the most. And just to finish this off even, Four, I'm never alone. I always have another watching my back and covering what I sometimes fail to see. You can't even hope to match me."

"You see that's where you're wrong," I said cocking my head to the side as I looked over her. The things she said had disturbed me. I already knew she was a better fighter than I. She clearly had been fighting from a young age and though I did Judo back home, I had only been developing my skills since she brought me into this world, as much as that annoyed me to admit. I had also figured that she knew I knew what was supposed to happen. That's another reason why I would've been important to her. The fact that she said there was always someone watching me caused chills to race down my spine. Who else could be watching me when she was not? My thoughts instantly shot to Ghost. He had been hired by her, but… I didn't feel any sot of connection between them. He was indifferent. He seemed to be fine by leaving her and I never sensed an ulterior motive when he joined us. Besides, wouldn't Hiei have done something if he sensed that Ghost was in league with her? Then…there was the fact that she was never alone. When I had eavesdropped on her and Toguro, she mentioned her brother. So, it was easy to tell what she meant by the fact that she's never alone, but why hadn't I ever known of him before this? My mind wandered slightly, but I was afraid of where they would go and because of that, I returned my attention to Morte saying, "You're over confidence is going to be your downfall."

"You're indeed a different person from when I first called you into this world. It's fascinating to watch a fighter like you grow into a more competent opponent. Unfortunately for you, you've outlived your usefulness. I have one last thing to get from you and then eliminate the problem," Morte said as she restlessly fidgeted with her wrists.

Time seemed to freeze and it was almost like I couldn't breathe. The room was silent and no one moved. It was like all the air had been sucked out and we sat in a vacuum of space. The right side of my head was throbbing and I was very aware of the fact that everything hung in the balance. Whatever Toguro decided would be the final say and I had just completely put my life and my very existence in their hands. Would he allow it because it could possibly push Yusuke to fight even harder in their fight? Or would he eliminate me on the spot in case there was the possibility I would interfere with their fight? The question of my fate haunted me and there was the risk of me blacking out. I struggled to breathe but it was like I didn't remember how to anymore. What was I doing? Now, more than ever before, I wished that this all was just a dream and I'd wake up to water being dumped on my face for not waking up the first time I was told to.

Suddenly, the door opened and life returned to me as Toguro stepped into the room with Koto and Juri standing behind him. I got to my feet and Morte followed suit. Another tense silence took over the room, but I was no longer filled with fear. In its stead was determination. I knew without having to be told. My request went through. The battle would be tomorrow. This was going to be the end of my fighting in the tournament, one way or another.

"Well, it sounds like you've got an agreement already made out. As a representative of the Tournament, I'm here to make sure that this is what you want and to allow it. Now assuming this deal doesn't fall through at the last minute, Rin Ishida and Morte will meet at the ring we used for the first half of the tournament and commence their fight there tomorrow with only the referees and any they want to watch in attendance. The outcome will be announced at the beginning of the actual finals, regardless of what happens. Do I have it all right?" Koto asked as her ears twitched in anticipation. She was like a little child at a candy store who had been told to pick out whatever she wanted. This proposition was completely new and she couldn't wait to see how it would work out.

"That's about it," I said crossing my arms and taking a deep breath.

"Yes," was all that Morte said as she glared at me viciously. I merely ignored her. Until tomorrow, I was untouchable by her or any of her team. That was all the reassurance that I needed.

"Alright then. Should I inform your teammates to this new agreement or do they already know that you've come here?" Juri asked looking at me curiously. She seemed bored and not nearly as excited at Koto was. That was fine with me and it was one less annoying person to hear.

"They don't need to know. After all, we are just the Honorary Fighters that were added onto their team. It's not like we're a vital part in all of the judging and such," I answered waving my hand dismissively at her. This received a curious stare from the two EMCEE's, but I didn't bother to concern myself with it. Toguro had done what he said he would and tomorrow would be the fight that caused dread to swell in my chest. All I needed to worry about now, was how I was going to fight tomorrow and decide if I was going to throw out all of my tricks in the beginning to get an advantage or bide my time.

"Well, alright then. I'm taking your verbal agreement as a sign of this is definitely going to happen. Tomorrow someone will let you know when we are ready and then you will head over to the old ring. Thank you very much and see you tomorrow!" Koto nearly squealed in excitement. Whenever a fight involved me in it, it usually ended out extremely bloody one, way or another, and I assumed that was the reason why the fox demoness was beside herself in giddiness. Morte and I assured her that this was indeed what we agreed on and both of the females that had arrived with Toguro soon left us all alone again. There was an intense moment of silence before anything was said. I had taken this time to think about what path I had just taken and what the consequences of my actions were going to be.

"Where will you be resting tonight? I assume that since your group has no idea of what you're doing that you don't plan on returning to them before this battle. Where do you have to stay?" Toguro inquired suddenly, causing me to jump out of my thoughts. The words whirled around in my head and it took about a minute for it all to make sense. Once it had though, I wish he hadn't asked.

"There are plenty of trees around here. I'm sure I can find something."

"That won't do. I think it would be rather demeaning for both of you if Morte defeated you because you did not have an adequate place to recover. A room will be provided for you here and tomorrow the two of you will make your way over to the ring. No one will have to wait," Toguro said as he snapped his fingers. The door opened once again and this time a sniveling demon that looked like it was a sort of frog stepped into the room. It was clear that he was nothing more than a servant and I resisted the urge to shiver as he looked at me with those strange eyes of his. He seemed to sense my disgust and looked back to Toguro as he said, "There's been a change of plans. Instead of escorting her back to her comrades, you will take her to an empty guest room that has been recently vacated. She will be given whatever she needs and taken good care of until tomorrow. You're dismissed."

The creature left the room and waited for me to leave. I glanced over at the rest of the team and got the hint that it was my turn to leave. Toguro escorted me out and just as I was leaving he placed his hand on my shoulder. Managing to stay calm, I looked back and asked, "Is there something I can do now that you've done something for me?"

"Only one thing. Win or lose, you tell Urameshi that unless he grows stronger, he will eventually lose everything," Toguro whispered into my ear. His chilling message froze my insides and I was unable to move until he stepped back and closed the door to seal off their team room. I trembled and couldn't believe I made it out of there without a scratch on me. I was as good, if not better after upstaging Morte, as I was when I had entered the room. I was almost dizzy at the thought of it all.

"This way miss," the creature said as it made its way down the hall. Mindlessly I followed and was relieved to find out that the room they had given me was close to the entrance of the stadium and if I needed to leave or do something, I would have the ability to do so. Heaving a sigh of relief, I plopped down on the bed and ran my hand over the locket I had hidden underneath my shirt. It was dark and sleep was beginning to creep up on my senses. After everything that had had happened, I didn't think I was going to be able to stay awake much longer. I soon fell into a very fitful sleep.

The last thing on my mind before I drifted away was the rest of the group and regret that I hadn't been able to tell them the entire story myself. I could only imagine what they would think when the thing came to light and they knew what I did.

-_The Next Morning-_

Thump. Thump. Thump.

I shot up into a sitting position drenched in sweat and breathing raggedly. Staring around the room I tried to figure out what was going on and soon realized that there was someone knocking at my door. I slid off of the bed to my feet and slowly opened the door, tensed and ready for a fight. To my surprise it was the creature who led me to the room in the first place. I ran my hand through my hair and attempted to look somewhat awake when I asked, "Can I help you?"

"Master Toguro wished me to inform you that you have two hours before the fight with Morte. He wished that you should be ready soon and treat yourself to a good breakfast to prepare. Thank you miss."

"Thank you," I responded as he turned around and left me. I slowly closed the door and noticed a telephone close by my bed. There was a paper beside that the telephone and I looked at it to see that it was a room service list. I arched my eyebrow and growled slightly. Why was it that the normal fighting groups like ours had to do a lot of stuff on our own, but the Toguro brothers and all of the sponsors got treated like kings? It didn't make any sense. They weren't putting their lives on the line for other's entertainment. They sure as hell didn't deserve it. It was just rather ironic that I was privy to this treatment on what would possibly be my last day in this tournament…I only hoped that I would make it to the finals alive.

My mind began to wonder and I quickly placed my order with them. I then told them to deliver it to me in half an hour and was soon jumping in the shower to recover some of my wits. I could feel my internal clock ticking, counting down the time I had to be in the ring to have the final face off against Morte. It was all too when I finished my shower and quickly devoured my breakfast. After all that was out of the way, I took a little time to stretch and prepare myself for the physical and mental strain of what was coming up next. Sensing that the end of my two hours was drawing near, I left the room and made my way to the front of the arena. Not to my surprise, Morte was already awaiting me.

"So, you didn't run away after all," she said putting her hands on her hips expectantly. She looked at me in contempt and I took in the twin blades that rested on her hips. This was going to be the first real fight I would have with her. It would just be me and her, completely uninterrupted and no holding back. Chills raced down my spine.

"I want this fight to be done and over with. I'm tired of you looming around. Its time you disappeared and left me alone," I responded crossing my arms tightly over my chest. My eyes narrowed on her and she merely laughed.

"Yusuke has finally forsaken you for what you allowed to happen to Genkai. You know as well as I that it was meant to be, but he'll never see it that way. If you had just done as I asked and destroyed him, none of this would've ever happened," Morte laughed shaking her head in pity.

"Why did you want me to go after Yusuke? What single reason possessed you to send me against him?" I asked quietly. She looked over me for a second and then shrugged, deciding it wouldn't hurt her to answer.

"The Yin-Yang Eye is what possessed me. If you had merely done as I asked, you might've been sent home absolutely fine as though this had all been a dream, but because of what you've done I'll send you back to your home in pieces," Morte growled as she looked at the sky. A devilish grin curled at her lips and she continued, "It's about time to be going isn't it?"

"It might as well be. We won't get anything done just by standing around here," I answered and simultaneously we jumped into the trees. Running from branch-to-branch we quickly made out way across the island to where the old fighting arena was. After a few minutes of running though, I noticed that we were heading toward the apartments where the rest of the group was staying. Instantly, I could sense all of them and knew that there was a good chance of one of them seeing us. I growled and shouted ahead to her, "What are you playing at Morte. This is meant to be just you and me!"

"It will be pup! I'm just giving your comrades a last chance to see you before you disappear," Morte shouted over her shoulder. My anger rose in my chest and we continued on the same path. If I deviated from the way she took, she would take that as me trying to run and no doubt would attempt to drop me on the very spot I stood. It would be safer for everyone involved if I followed. That way whatever happened in our fight, it would be in the confines of the fighting stadium.

Soon, the building came into view and I nearly lost my breath when I saw who was standing out in front of it. Yukina, Keiko, Atsuko, Shizuru, Ghost and Kuwabara were huddled together as if they were waiting for something. I wasn't quick enough to hide my aura and the aura-sensitive siblings instantly caught it. They turned on me and it was like time froze. Morte and I were in midair from jumping and we would land on the ground a few meters away from them before continuing on our way. It was obvious that she was showing off because as far as she knew, this would be the last time that any of them would see me alive. Their eyes all grew wide and they didn't know how to respond to what they were seeing. I could sense the malicious intent that Morte was exuding and there was little doubt in my mind that she was trying to scare them as much as she could. They were shocked that I had disappeared for the entire night and reappeared in the company of the one person who wanted me dead more than anyone else. I could read in their eyes that they were trying to make sense of it all and that was one thing that I didn't; want them to do. If they realized what was going on...it was possible they would try to interfere. Knowing that this could go downhill really quickly I decided that I needed to do something. Time picked up instantly upon me and I pushed off the ground as I landed. Using my momentum, I shot past Morte as quickly as I could to take the lead and offered only a small glance out of the corner of my eyes at the group watching us. Then I snapped my attention forward and drove us toward the arena. I'd be damned if she tried to make us stop again and there was no way in hell I was going to let this be postponed anymore. It wasn't long before the apartments were far behind us and Morte gave a small chuckle.

"What's wrong pup? Didn't want to say a last farewell to your friends?" she asked with a sneer.

"Why should I? You're going to be the one who should be making peace with the world you'll soon be leaving," I snapped back. I couldn't let this be the end. No way in hell. I glared back at her and made sure that it was obvious that I didn't plan on letting her win this fight.

"I hope you won't disappoint me with all this big talk in the ring," Morte answered as she suddenly flew past me, faster than I thought she was capable. Doubt flared in my chest and I realized that she must've been training and then storing her power away as much as she could this entire tournament. I was a fool to think that she was so overconfident to not work on her own strength before she faced off against me. This meant that she knew I was a forced to be reckoned with…and it also meant that I had my work cut out for me.

It seemed like only seconds had passed by the time we reached the ring and took our final steps in. I was anxious. Fear and doubt were tingling at the slightest nerve and everything seemed different from the last time I had stood in that ring. It had been thundering with the sound of hundreds of demons back then. Now it was quiet. I could actually hear the wind blowing around us and it was almost peaceful. The scars of the previous battles, such as the one where Hiei had burned the impression of his enemy into the wall, were still present and left an eerie reminder that this was a place where demons fought for entertainment of others. Blood was spilled here just because it could be. It was spilled at the demand of others. It was all just a game…and I was just a player. A player who's life depended on the outcome of this final match.

Koto and Juri stood in the middle of the ring, patiently waiting for us. To my surprise, they weren't the only ones. A new figure stood a few meters away from them. He was tall, with dark blue eyes and short black hair. The features that he possessed were not that different from Morte, except for the fact that he was fare more muscled. His arms seemed almost ready to rip out of the shirt that he was wearing. Dressed in something that reminded me of a mercenary, his cat ears twitched at the sound of our approach and he looked up at us with a devilish smile. Instantly I looked between the ears of the demons. Morte's were clearly far more feminine and delicate. This new figure's ears on the other hand were strong, and seemed to hear anything and everything around him. No one had to tell me who this was…This was Morte's brother.

"Ah, Azra. I see that you could make it. It's been a while hasn't it?" Morte purred as she moved toward her brother. They shared a brief embrace and then turned their attention back to me. Morte was glowing with devilish glee and she hissed, "Well, at least you'll get to see her final battle. I can't wait to rip the last living breath out of this pup's chest before she even has the chance to take it."

"Just watch yourself my sister. She's worked hard to fight against your Jagan. Although, it has been a feeble attempt. I will take my place in the stands. Enjoy your fun," Azra crooned as he placed a hand on his sister's shoulder before leaving. I took a deep breath and turned my attention away from him to focus on Morte. I couldn't get distracted now.

"Alright, are you two ready for this?" Koto asked as Juri took her place standing just outside of the ring. I nodded and Morte gestured for her to officially start the match. Taking the hint, the fox demon jumped out of the rind and said, "Here we go! The rules are simple. Last one standing wins. No counting down and no outside interference. This is the first match of the finals. Rin vs. Morte. FIGHT!"

My chakram were off of my hips and in my hands before anyone could blink and I leapt back to dodge Morte who was attempting to attack from above. Adjusting my speed to keep pace with her, I darted to the side and sent my weapons flying with a trail of fire flying behind them. Meanwhile, I leapt into the air and was prepared to strike at Morte from above, until she did a triple back flip to avoid my weapons. Instead, I landed in the exact place she had been standing and caught my weapons when they would've hit her. She likewise unsheathed both of her weapons and dove toward me with her both of them pointed at me. It was plain as day that she was aiming at my chest and the perfect counterattack came to mind. I grinned as I ran my thumbs over my chakram and shouted, "Bring it bitch!"

"I'm sending you straight to hell pup!" Morte screamed back as she came within reach of me. I simply lunged forward at her and allowed her blades to skim the tops of my knuckles in order to lock them inside of my chakram. I twisted her weapons clean out of her hands and kicked her in the side as I threw them away. Surprise sent her reeling back and I took the time to attack her. Tightly gripping my chakram for fear of losing them in a sneak attack, I advanced on Morte and wasn't able to move in time as she stepped aside revealing an attack of her own. She laughed and shouted, "Dancing Shadows!"

Just as the name promised a huge wave of shadows rose to meet me and slammed right into the middle of my chest, knocking the wind right out of me. To my dismay, I dropped my weapons on impact and was thrown into the air like a ragdoll. The shadows divided into parts and surrounded me as I was frozen in midair. Instincts told me that what was about to happen and I brought my arms up to feebly defend myself. Not even five seconds later, I was besieged by the creatures. They were coming in different directions and when one would slam into me from the back, the next would uppercut me in the chin as I was falling forward. I felt like the bullied kid being tossed back and forth among the bigger, stronger bullies with no way to stop myself except to wait for a moment when they would give me time to breathe. A punch slammed into my jaw and I felt blood spill over my lip. A kick was thrust into the middle of my back and as I flew forward, a well placed punch to my gut stopped me in mid air. This continued in a brutal fashion and though I didn't suffer any serious injuries, I was covered in bruises in only a matter of minutes. It would be worse if I didn't put a stop to all of it and quickly.

The attacks were persistent and seemed to have a rhythm to it. There was at least a three second break between each, individual attack and this was a constant. I curled my body up tighter to better protect myself and while they continued to beat my body to a bloody pulp. I took a deep breath and ignored the pain in time to focus on the enemies I was faced with. They were too…structured in their attacks. Too…routine. There was no way that the shadows attacking me were in anyway shape or form living creatures. There was no thought process, just what Morte demanded of them. That fact would make it easier to dodge and throw them off of their movements. When that happened, I could either take them down or…I could turn them on the very master who called them into our battle. The mere thought made me grin.

"Is this all you've got?" I roared in fury and I threw a shockwave of fire in every direction. The shadows instantly scattered to avoid it, and using the moment of slack to my advantage, I rushed Morte. This time however, I moved at her from her blind spot and remained silent as I moved. Dropping my defenses, I closed my eyes and leapt through the air to knock Morte clean off her feet. By this time the shadows had regained their rhythm and moved to attack me once more. This was a bitter-sweet moment due to the fact that they were slicing into me once more, but due to the fact that they weren't intelligent beings, they were unable to discern the difference between friend, foe, or even master. As I wrapped my arms around Morte tightly to keep her in place, the creatures that she called to do her bidding in fact turned on her to fulfill their orders of attacking me. Morte screamed as her creatures lashed out into her as well and left her with a few decent injuries. This didn't seem to phase either of us though due to the fact that as we rolled across the ground due to the momentum I had gained, the only main focus either of us had was knocking the other to the ground first to get the upper-hand.

This goal turned out to be easier than I thought as I bounced off my knees and landed on Morte's chest. Taking advantage of the situation, I proceeded to use Morte's face as my own personal punching bag. Only instinct fueled my thoughts and by this point I was beyond the point of hating Morte. The only focus I had was to survive. Of course, this little advantage I had been given was quickly taken away from me. A shadow flew out of nowhere and caught me clean across the jaw. There was enough force behind the blow to blur my eyesight as well as send me flipping across the ring. My opponent finally called off her inhuman creatures and went after me on her own power. My head was still spinning after the hit and when I looked up, Morte kicked me in the jaw sending me back once again. Tasting blood in my mouth, snapped me back into reality and I knew it was time to take a stand.

I put my hand back and used to it control my skid. Once I had my balance, I lunged forward and grabbed Morte by the collar of her shirt. Since she was unable to go anywhere, I threw my knee into her gut before throwing a right hook into her jaw. Morte's head smacked the ground with a dull thud and before she could move, I decided to soccer kick her across the floor of the ring. As she flipped and rolled across the round, I tore toward my chakram, thinking that I would need them very soon. If I had been paying closer attention, I would've seen that Morte landed right next to her weapons and she snatched them up before I could even reach mine. Bouncing back from her attack, Morte descended on me and before I knew what happened, one of her weapons was buried deep in my upper thigh. She pushed the weapon in further to the point where the blade was sticking entirely through my leg. I let out an agonized scream and hit the ground like a ton of bricks. The smell of blood was in the air and my leg seared in pain like it was on fire whenever any sort of weight was placed on it. My enemy stepped back and allowed me to writhe in pain for a few seconds before continuing with her onslaught.

"It's astounding how weak you are. Most people would cry out and then move on with the pain. Yet there you are, lying there helpless. How pathetic," she sneered as I rolled onto my side. Knowing that this was not the end of her attacks, I pushed off the ground with my good leg and arms. This allowed me to put some space between us and focus on the wound I had just endured. It was strange, fighting against Morte so ruthlessly and not hearing the announcers comment on the carnage they were witnessing. I glanced over and saw Koto and Juri watching very intently. Koto seemed far more entertained with it all than Juri did, but together they were making sure they took in every aspect of the fight. I imagined that they would have to report this to the head of the tournament so that the outcome was truly official. Then again, they weren't important to the fight anymore. This battle between Morte and I had been a long time coming. It only made sense that they wouldn't say too much about any of it. Then my attention moved to Azra, the solitary figure who stood in the stadium as a true spectator.

He stood there with his arms crossed and this unfathomable look on his face as he carefully took in the fight. Even when Morte had suffered injuries, he wasn't fazed. It was almost like he wasn't concerned at all for her well being. Then again, it could've been the fact that he didn't honestly think I would amount to much in a fight against his sister. Without a single doubt in my mind, I was willing to bet that he was positive I wouldn't even last five minutes against Morte. So, in his mind, what was there to be worried about? I was merely an insignificant demon standing in the way of their ultimate goal. All they needed to do was crush my resistance and go on like nothing happened.

"I'm not going to let you just win this Morte. You're going to wish you never met me!" I shouted throwing a current of electricity aimed at her heart. She merely stepped to the side, but instead of allowing the attack to be wasted, redirected it to slam into the ground where my chakram were. They were sent soaring into the air and I just reached up for them to land securely in both of my hands. I fastened them onto my hips, but before I could move at all the entire world around me went black as pitch. All of my senses were instantly shut down and the only way I knew for sure that I hadn't passed out was the throbbing pain still aching through my leg. Straining my eyes and ears for anything that would help me, I looked around in the darkness. I wasn't even sure what had happened, but I knew that this was something Morte had caused. She was trying to deprive me of my senses, the very things I relied on to fight with. This much I knew and it forced me to remain calm. If I panicked now, it would be the end of me and I sure as hell wasn't going to let that happen without a fight. Taking a deep breath, I focused on calming myself and figuring out what had happened. No matter how hard I tried though, I couldn't figure it out. This was the same utter darkness I had suffered when Tenchi had wrapped me in the shadows he used, but these weren't nearly as smothering. I could still breathe. I could even move. The things I couldn't do though, were far more concerning. I couldn't feel the ground beneath my body. I could see my hand in front of my face. I couldn't even hear the sound of my own breathing. What was going on?

This was pure nothingness…

"Rin! Get your dumb ass outta the way!" a voice suddenly screamed through my head. That was Yusuke's voice! Instantly, the illusion of darkness was shattered and I looked to see Morte a few feet away from me. My hands were on the chakram in seconds and I barely managed to lock them with her blade in time to keep it from being plunged into the middle of my chest. I looked at the audience entrance and saw Yusuke standing there completely out of breath. He was using the railing for support as he was gasping for air and using my demonic hearing I could hear the rest of the group coming up behind him. I could see that he was shocked to see that I was in the middle of a battle with Morte. The Spirit Detective shook his head vigorously and shouted, "What's going on here?"

Koto picked up her microphone and announced, "Rin and Morte decided to have their match here early. This is to be announced when the finals officially start and this has been sanctioned by HQ. I would ask that you refrain from interfering, but you are welcome to sit and watch the carnage."

"When the hell did this happen?" Yusuke shouted shaking his head is surprise, but upon noticing that Morte began pushing her weapon against me while he was talking he decided to make his speech quick, "Whatever happens, Rin, you better come outta that fight the winner or I'm gonna kick your ass!"

Without taking my eyes off of Morte, I nodded and struggled to keep the female demoness at bay. The tip of the blade however did touch my neck and I could feel a small drop of blood ooze from the cut. I remained amazingly calm as I pushed her back, but froze as I noticed that my locket was caught on the tip of her weapon. She seemed to realize this too and her eyes shone maliciously as she quickly jerked the weapon up, deepening the cut on my neck and slicing the necklace from around my neck. My eyes were wide as I watched it fly through the air and land in Morte's outstretched palm. She closed her finger's tightly around it and jumped back.

"My, my, my. Would you look at this pretty little trinket. It's so small and meaningless. I wonder how much I could get for it? Probably not much," Morte cackled as my anger began to spike. How dare she speak such horrible things about my prized locket…although I was an idiot to continue fighting with it on. I shouldn't have worn it in the first place. Out of the corner of my eyes I watched as the entire group of my friends, fighters and not, make the scene and stare in shock at the condition both of us were in. I knew that they were focused on the blade that was still sticking through my leg and the fact that Morte had stolen something that I had treasured so dearly seemed to shock them. Or maybe it was the calm look that was on my face. Perhaps it was the mere fact that I hadn't just gotten up and tore the shit out of the bitch that disturbed them the most. I knew that they realized how important that was to me. I never had to talk about it. It was never away from me and the only times I took it off my neck where times when I was worried that it would be damaged. At that very moment, the only thing going through my head, was how I was going to shred Morte to pieces.

"I'm going to be straight with you here. That little "trinket," as you so put it, is more valuable than your life. If anything were to happen to it I would rip you apart and destroy you in the worst way possible. So, I'll make a deal with you," I said slowly getting to my feet. Despite how much it seared in pain, I stepped down on the injured leg and reached down to grab the hilt of the blade. Without hesitating because I knew that if I did, I wouldn't actually do it, I jerked the blade up and pulled it out of my leg. Blood splattered across the ground and for a second I felt as though my legs were going to give out underneath me. It was then that the anger set in and the pain seemed to fade away. Instead, I stared at the female and slammed her blade into the ground so that it was buried into the ground a few inches. I cracked my neck and slowly advanced on her saying, "Give the locket back to me and I won't shove your own weapon down your throat!"

Flames exploded out around me and I soon made sure that they surrounded the entire ring. There was nowhere that Morte could run now. I made sure of that, but that wasn't good enough for me. So, after that I decided to follow the ring of fire with a bordering line of lightning and sealed off anyway she had out. I could feel the anger boiling inside of me and the power I had been storing up for this fight finally broke through the seal I had been forcing on it. My aura raged out around me and the air became thick with my energy. Glaring at the demoness before me, I took a breath and said, "What's it going to be? Give me the locket or look pretty damn funny with this sword sticking through your throat!"

"Well, this is definitely a side of you I haven't seen before. I would like to see you try!" Morte cackled as she lunged at me with her power flaring out about her. Knowing that she still had plenty of tricks up her sleeves, I spun her weapon on the palm of my hand and waited for her to get within three feet of me. Just beneath the fighting arena I called a current of electricity to run along the stones that formed the ring and watched her closely. Morte, not to my surprise, didn't pay any attention to the coursing electricity beneath her feet and ran headfirst into the trap. As soon as her foot stepped down on the rigged stone, she let out a bloodcurdling scream of agony as her nervous system encountered the shock of its life. I darted forward and stabbed the blade deep into her left shoulder, which effectively caused her to drop my locket. Snatching it in mid air, I moved to take a few steps back and went to pocket the treasure I had stolen back. Yet, Morte wasn't about to just let that happen and threw an explosion of shadows into the middle of my chest. I was easily knocked off of my feet, due to the lack of traction from my injured leg, and since I was unable to catch myself, I was thrown right into the wall of lighting and flames I had created.

"Rin!" Kuwabara shouted in concern as I disappeared completely in the roar of the elements. I, however, remained perfectly silent. These things did not hurt me and I realized that they provided the perfect cover for me to move without her being able to detect me. The hissing sounds of the fire and the crackling sounds of the lightning concealed the sound of my footsteps as I maneuvered around the edge and the fire was so blinding that you could only dream of seeing what was inside of it. Soon I was standing on the edge of the ring just behind Morte. Only one thing went through my mind.

Payback is a bitch.

_-Until Next Time—_

_**ME:**_** Well, I hope you all liked that. I felt like it had to be a little longer than this, so I split it up. I know what I want to happen, but I haven't had the chance to get the ideas out as of yet. But I will.**

_**Hiei:**_** You seemed to have grown as a fighter. It's about time.**

_**Ghost:**_** This is indeed a great change within our little fighter. I wonder how far she will go?**

_**ME:**___**Well, there's only one way to find out now isn't there?**

_**Ghost:**_** It would be greatly appreciated if you left the authoress a review telling her what you think. And remember, this is nowhere near the end, so if you like this now, imagine what she has in store for the chapters to come.**

_**Hiei:**_** Hn.**

_**ME:**_** Thank you Ghost for the shameless plug. Anyway, see ya next time!**


	29. A Few Tricks Up My Sleeve

_**ME:**_** ! Excellent! Excellent!**

_**Ghost:**_** How…odd…**

_**Hiei:**_** Unfortunately, this is a regular occurrence and I've had to learn how to just focus on other thoughts. It's a taxing endeavor. **

_**Ghost:**_** So being this authoress' muse teaches you patience and discipline. How very fascinating.**

_**Hiei:**_** Unfortunately, it's in one of the most annoying ways possible. **

_**ME:**_** Enough chatter! Down to business! Alright, here it goes people! We're about to enter a new part of the story. The Dark Tournament will soon be drawing to a close and I figured it would be appropriate to end this fight nicely.**

_**Ghost:**_** What exactly is your definition of "nice?"**

_**ME:**_** One kickass fight scene!**

_**Hiei:**_** This has the potential to be interesting after all.**

_**ME:**_** Exactly! So, I hope you all enjoy this long time coming and well deserved fight between Morte and Rin. I only own my original characters. I own NOTHING ELSE PEOPLE OR I'D BE RICH RICH RICH! Enjoy! Chapter Start!**

_**(This is completely irrelevant, but I felt the need to mention that the whole time writing this fight scene I was listening to BoA. The beat of her song Scream was fun to write this to.)**_

_**(Another random thing. Does anyone have any Yu-Yu Hakusho piano sheet music that I could access? Lately I was able to play Room of Angel from Silent Hill and Fukai Mori from Inuyasha, but I can't find ANY for Yu-Yu Hakusho! It makes me rather sad.)**_

_**Chapter 29: A Few Tricks Up My Sleeve**_

"Rin!" Kuwabara shouted in concern as I disappeared completely in the roar of the elements. I, however, remained perfectly silent. These things did not hurt me and I realized that they provided the perfect cover for me to move without her being able to detect me. The hissing sounds of the fire and the crackling sounds of the lightning concealed the sound of my footsteps as I maneuvered around the edge and the fire was so blinding that you could only dream of seeing what was inside of it. Soon I was standing on the edge of the ring just behind Morte. Only one thing went through my mind.

Payback is a bitch.

Moving as silently as possible along the rim, I waited until I was in the perfect position to make the first move. It was then that I launched one of my chakram at her from directly behind and then darted halfway around the ring to follow suit with my second weapon. They cut through the air without making a sound and Morte only realized that something was heading her way when it was far too late for her to move. The chakram sliced the skin across her shoulder and back before disappearing into the flames and lightning. I recalled them back and realized that I had successfully delivered an attack without her being able to tell where it had come from. Like clockwork, my chakram spiraled back into my hands and I held them tightly, to the point where my knuckles turned pale. They were the only thing I had control of, and that comforted me. With that in mind, I returned them to my hips and prepared for another attack.

I heard an agitated hiss come from Morte and she spun around to scrutinize the ring. Determination flared behind her eyes and the only thing on the demoness' mind was finding me. Knowing that I was safely hidden away, I allowed myself a moment to look at my comrades and see them leaning forward, trying to detect anything that would tell them who had the advantage in the fight. Only three people knew my exact location, outside of myself, and I wasn't surprised in the least to see Hiei, Kurama, and Ghost staring directly at me. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and the others were searching the flames trying to detect anything, but weren't fortunate enough to be rewarded. The wound on my leg seemed to be their main source of concern and I placed my hand on it gingerly, remembering exactly how much it hurt. Blood was still seeping through the wound and there wasn't enough time for me to adequately wrap it up. It did make it a bit difficult to move, but then again, I was one hell of a stubborn fighter. This little injury wasn't going to keep me down in this fight. At least, I wasn't going to let it.

"Is this supposed to scare me pup? A little bit of fire and electricity? I've endured far more than anything you could throw at me! I raised myself in the darkest shadows of the Makai! You are nothing!" Morte roared as she raised her hands over her head. I blinked in shock as a fountain of darkness shot into the air. It rained down around the ring and the only thing that made me reassured was the fact that as soon as they touched the flames, the fizzled out of existence. Yet, I was still anxious as I watched the pools of darkness begin to form on the ground. As Morte moved about the barrier, searching for me, the darkness rose up in her presence and beckoned her to use it. I could see a world of terror reflected deep in those pools and their eerie purple shine along the edges pushed me to further cower in my self created shelter. I was reminded of the smothering darkness I had encountered with Tenchi and I felt the constricting fear surround my chest. As long as I was hidden in there, she could do nothing. Sensing this, Morte decided to act, "Very well, pup. You've forced my hand. If I can't reach you, then I will send Azra to destroy everything you once held dear. I hope you like this world, because it's the only place you'll have left when we're done! You know who is in danger and it's all because of you!"

"I'll kill you first!" I roared, lunging out of the wall of flames. Pure and absolute anger compelled my actions and all reason had been abandoned. How dare her threaten my family and my home! At that very moment, Morte had been standing directly in front of me and I was able to wrap my fingers tightly around her throat. Once I had, I latched on digging my nails into the flesh of her neck. The momentum threw both of us to the ground and I landed on her chest, staring down into her surprised face. Anger raced through my veins instead of blood and I tightened my grip hissing, "I never knew I had it in me to kill someone before I met you. After every demon you've put me up against, I can honestly say I'm grateful. I know now, without a doubt, that I can finish you off right here and now and not lose any sleep over it!"

"Heh, not today pup!" Morte screamed as she grabbed my arms. A strange feeling came over the skin that she touched and I glanced to see a strange pool of darkness begin to cover my arms. It wrapped around me like a tight fitting shirt and began moving up both of my arms. At first there wasn't anything indicating that this was an attack and it soon covered all the way up to my shoulder. Then it happened. Suddenly, this strange coating constricted over my skin and I screamed, feeling as though my bones were going to break. Not surprisingly, I released the demoness and she quickly overpowered me. My back slammed against the ring and Morte stomped her foot down in the middle of my chest. I wasn't quite sure how she had gotten there so fast in the first place, but the pain was beginning to cloud my judgment. My arms still seared in pain and I realized that I was now at a serious disadvantage. My opponent merely smiled at me and growled, "I told you before. You're nothing compared to me. That is my Blanket of Darkness. It completely paralyzes whatever part of the body it touches and then constricts around it as tightly as I wish it to. If I really wanted to, I could've shattered every bone in both of your arms. There's nothing you could do about it."

"Come on, Rin! Show her what you're made of!" Kuwabara shouted encouragingly to me. There was something else said from Hiei at that point and I heard Kuwabara throw a fit about not being supportive of a teammate. I glanced over and saw Hiei fix the frizzy haired fighter with a death glare that told him to shut his mouth before he shut it for him. Realizing that they were distracting me, I quickly pushed the sound of their voices aside and turned my gaze back to the female before me. Of course, Morte couldn't just let her little moment of triumph go.

"Now would be the time to start begging me for forgiveness. At the slightest wish, I could destroy your arms beyond repair and crush your ribs underneath my foot. You're nothing compared to me, Rin Ishida. Admit your defeat," Morte demanded as she pushed her foot down harder on my sternum. Tears of pain clouded my sight and it was impossible to breathe correctly. All I could do was take sharp, shallow breaths and even that was difficult. Morte did have a point…and at that moment there was only so much that I was able to do. It was then that my defiant nature kicked in and I wanted nothing more than to prove to Morte that she was not as all powerful as she thought she was.

"I don't know about being compared to you," I grit through my teeth and blinked away the tears of pain. I quickly assessed the situation. My arms were thrown out on either side of me and Morte was reaching for her weapons, surely to deliver the final blow. There wasn't much time and if I was going to get out of this relatively unhurt, I would have to think and think extremely fast. I looked beyond Morte to stare at the sky as I continued confidently, "But I am worth something in a fight and I'm not going to just lie here and let you win!"

A streak of lightning shot out from the barrier surrounding the ring and caught Morte straight in the middle of her back. She was sent flipping over me and using only my legs, I managed to roll to the side and get up to my knees. Both of my arms hung uselessly at my sides and my balance was off due to this handicap. It was almost as if lead had completely covered both of my arms and dragged them down so I could barely lift them off the ground. I bit down on the corner of my mouth and quickly thought of some way to get rid of stuff covering my arms. Unfortunately nothing came to mind and all too soon, the female fighter got to her feet once again. I cursed her ability to quickly jump back on her feet. She merely snickered and shook her head.

"You're resourceful, pup. I'll give you that, but it doesn't really matter so long as I still have that control over you. So, what's it going to be? The slow painful way? Or quick and somewhat painless? I'd be more than happy to make you suffer if that's what you truly wish," Morte laughed dusting herself off. She threw a thoughtful glance at the stuff on my arms and I felt them tighten uncomfortably. Wincing, I took in the surroundings around us. There had to be something that I could do. Aside from the pain of Morte squeezing the bones to the point where they almost broke, my arms were completely numb. There was no feeling in either of them and I couldn't move them at all. What had she done to me?

"Well, why not make this fun? I'm not staying down Morte. You might as well kill me, because I will haunt you until the day I stop breathing," I answered as I got to my feet. I smirked and prepared for what was going to happen next. It was about time I learned how to fight with my feet anyway. Of course…this fight just became entirely improvisation so long as my arms were bound the way they were. The pain began to increase and there was only a little amount of time left before the bones would break.

"I was hoping you would say that," Morte said as she rushed me. For the moment she had place her twin blades in their sheathes and planned to use her fists. This gave me the time I needed to focus my balance and begin weaving in and out of her punches. Morte was vicious and didn't give me an inch of slack, but that was fine by me. This only pushed my own fighting ability further and allowed me to grow stronger. After realizing her rhythm, I watched for an opening and once it presented itself, I spun on my heel and roundhouse kicked her in the gut. She stumbled back and in the meantime I ran forward focusing on sending a current of lightning through both of my arms. Time was running out as I advanced on my enemy and I pleaded with my powers to awaken the use of my arms. I moved closer to her and still there was not a single twitch of feeling. Dread was swelling in the middle of my chest. Finally it worked. The lightning shattered through the darkness and I brought my fist back to land one wicked right hook to Morte's face. Pure astonishment stopped her from retaliating in time and I could've sworn I heard her jaw pop when my fist connected with it. Of course she flew back and I was given a moment of relief. I was absolutely shocked that my plan had actually worked and I used that moment to breathe.

"Damn. I'm never taking my arms for granted ever again!" I laughed shaking my head as I flexed my arms back and forth. The injury on my leg was no longer my major concern and I pushed the pain to the back of my mind. I couldn't allow myself to get distracted anymore. This fight was getting more and more dangerous by the second…and I kind of liked that. Perhaps I had spent too much time around my friends after all. It seemed I was beginning to get as crazy as they were when it came to fighting. I grinned and unhooked my chakram from my hips. With a rush of adrenaline that I had never felt before I called out, "Let's go, Morte! I'm just getting to the fun part!"

"I'm glad you think so! This will be the last fun you ever have!" Morte replied as she jumped to her feet and unsheathed her blades. She twirled them around her body and I could see the fire flare in her eyes, but this was not a fire caused by hate. Instead of hate, it was anticipation. This battle awakened something within both of us…and it reminded me of watching Yusuke. This is what it was like to fight and not just because you had to. This was a fight that I actually wanted to finish and I couldn't wait to see what would happen. Morte had reached a point beyond hating me. At that moment, we were just two fighters about ready to give it our all.

"Give me your best shot!" I hollered as we ran into battle once again. We met in a clash of metal and flurry of movement. Our feet were practically gliding across the ground as we danced circles about each other, thrusting our weapons in such precise directions that they never strayed off course. Our constant motion spun us in frantic circles and we were continually locked in the embrace of contact. There were mere seconds of time that we were not attacking each other and the fluid motions we ran through were mere coincidence. Our actions were not thought out and we merely fought as our hearts told us to. Fighting instinct was what drove us on and at one point we were locked in such close quarters that her hair spun through the air, lingering close to my face. Ignoring it, I drove forward and she slid to the side, twirling as she went. Without even knowing what had happened, I reached out and snatched a handful of her hair. Flicking my wrist back, I yanked her off balance and spun around to throw her to the ground. I soon heard and thud and jumped up to throw my chakram down at her, but Morte was quicker than I thought. I watched her rock onto her back and then flip to land on her feet like a cat. Her head snapped up to look at me and I watched a smile cross her face. In that instant I knew she had something devious up her sleeves. She rose to meet me in the air and it was then that I noticed her weapons had been stabbed into the ground. She must've have used them as leverage to flip back onto her feet, but if that had been the case, why had she left them there on the ground?

"I _will_ take the Yin-Yang Eye from you here and now, Rin! Prepare to die!"

There wasn't much time to think about what was said as she brought her fist forward and caught me in the jaw. The sheer force of the blow threw me further into the air and she bounced through the wind, ready to land another hit. I growled and prepared to block another punch to my gut, but was stopped as a strange feeling washed over me. Soon, I felt as though my body was weighed down by lead and I couldn't move. My breath caught in my chest and Morte's knuckles smashed into my stomach. An explosion of light and darkness erupted around us and it sent us flying to opposite sides of the stadium. My body slammed into the very top of the audience seats and the wall beneath me crumbled. Rubble fell all around me as I then hit the ground and proceeded to flip head over heels down the stairs. I couldn't count how many steps my body had connected with and by that point, my head was so fuzzy that I was astonished to even know what happened next. There was the constant feeling of my head smacking into the stone steps and then my body following soon after. Just as I reached what I estimated to be the middle of the staircase another explosion of darkness enveloped me and I was thrown into the air. By that point, I lost all of my bearings and I no longer knew what way was up or down. For a few sweet seconds, I was lost in the air, feeling nothing of the world around me. It was almost nice. Then it was broken as my stomach seared in pain from another attack connecting. I was sent crashing down and slammed into the bottom wall that separated the audience seats from the outer area of the ring. The stone shattered like glass and I struggled to focus my attention. If I lost consciousness, there was no doubt in my mind that it would be over and lord only knew what would happen next. I felt the ground beneath my body and managed to call a small shield around me to prevent the rubble from completely crushing me.

"What the hell was that?" I heard Kuwabara cough as the loud crunching of rock began to subside. Slowly opening my eyes, I looked around to see dust covering the whole stadium and the sound of people trying to figure out what had happened. Frankly, I wish I knew myself. I had lost all sense of what was around me and I couldn't even tell where anything was anymore. What in the hell happened and why had it been so powerful. There was no possible way that Morte had done that and there was an even smaller chance that I was the one who did that.

"Morte! Are you alright?" Azra suddenly called out over us all. Silence fell around my group as we listened for any reply. There was no immediate answer and for a fraction of a second my heart rose. Was Morte dead? Would I win this match and finally be released from the constant fear of her looming behind the shadows? Yet, I should've known better to hope for such a thing because after a minute, I heard her trademark agitated growl.

"I'm fine. Just wasn't prepared for that wench to release a wave of power like that. Did she even survive it? I'm inclined to think she did because her barrier around the ring is still there, but I wouldn't mind being told that I was wrong," Morte hissed in response. I looked up from where I was lying and saw her supporting herself against the edge of the ring with a pool of darkness pushing back the barrier I had created. The dust was beginning to settle and everything was beginning to clear. I could see the outline of my friends and could sense Hiei using his Jagan to get a clear view of what was going on. Knowing that if I gave her a chance Morte could use the situation against me, I mustered all the strength I could in my arms and crawled out from under the rubble. As soon as the last bit of my shield slipped out from under it, the mound that was hovering over me crashed to the ground. If that had been me, there would've been no way I would've survived it. I now officially worshipped the fact that Hiei and Genkai had been such slave-drivers in training. They made it so I could access my powers even when I was on the verge of collapsing in exhaustion.

"Damn straight I survived it. I told you before, Morte. I won't let you win," I choked through the dust as I struggled to my feet. It was almost impossible and it felt as though they would slip out from under me. My head was still throbbing painfully and the heavy lead-like feeling weighed down on my chest. Ignoring it, I staggered over to the edge of the ring and pulled myself straight into the protection of the self created barrier. The feeling of my own aura comforted me and I took in a deep breath. Realizing that the barrier had outlived its usefulness, I called it back and took into my body the power it used. My vision cleared and I narrowed my eyes on Morte who was standing at the edge of the ring. There was a large gash on the side of her face that was bleeding and just below her left eye was slightly swollen. Apparently it had done a number on her as well. Something inside of me still wanted to rage against Morte and I could hear a soft echo in my mind. After listening harder, I realized what it was.

_Kill…Kill…Kill._

"What's wrong pup? You've seem a bit pale. Realizing that this was a mistake?" Morte cackled as she too jumped into the ring. I brought my hand up to cover my right ear and focused on something else other than that damn mantra echoing through my head.

"You've used me and then tried to kill me when I was of no more use to you Morte. It's about time you've told me what the hell you want with me! You took me away from my home and my safety! What the hell is your obsession with the Yin-Yang Eye and why do I have this strange voice in the back of my head!" I screamed in aggravation. I could feel the power pulsing through my body and the voice became stronger. The harder I tried to ignore it, the louder it became and the only thing helping me focus my mind was the fact that I could still sense the seal that both Ghost and Hiei had placed in my mind. It was still keeping me in control.

"Oh I see…you bluffed your way into this fight. You never really knew what it was that made you the perfect target for my plans…Well, it doesn't matter. I might as well let you know what's been brought on the world. You see, the Yin-Yang Eye is a source of limitless power. Created in one of the most magnificent massacres in the Makai's history! Somehow, someway, those meddling fools of the Reikai got a hold of it and hid it away. After years of tracking and waiting, we found the key to getting it back and to our surprise it was in a simple package. You couldn't suppress its aura. We weren't sure how or why, but amazingly the only way to get that jewel back was through you. That's why you were brought to this reality, where the key could be awakened by the very thing that brought the Yin-Yang Eye to existence in the first place, fighting instincts and the desire for power. Not even I know the specifics, but I know one thing for sure. There is something about you that can lead me to what I want. Once I get it, I will have limitless power!" Morte exclaimed as she shifted into a fighting position. Of course this information shocked and confused us. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and noticed Koenma stepping forward.

"What do you mean? The Yin-Yang Eye was destroyed by my father years ago. There's no possible way you could ever find it," Koenma said narrowing his eyes on her.

"Wrong! You may need to check your facts prince-boy!" Azra barked with a laugh. Instantly he became the center of our attention and he shook his head, "Do you honestly believe that your father would destroy such a source of power? He merely masked it and made it difficult for demons to find. Although none of us could've imagined how he would hide it away so no one could find it. Your father is a power-hungry as the rest of us. The only difference is that due to his position in the Reikai that he must check himself. We are not bound in such a way and we've found the key to regaining what was once ours to begin with!"

"How did my father get a hold of it in the first place?" Koenma snapped sounding frustrated. I looked back at them all and blinked in confusion. The rest of the group was likewise confused. Even the demons of our groups didn't understand what he was talking about. Apparently, this was an extremely well guarded secret and was a story so old that it was no longer common knowledge.

"Enough of the history lesson! It doesn't much matter who had it and how they got it! All that matters is that I know Rin has the key to get it back and I will kill her to get it!" Morte screeched as she suddenly darted forward. I barely managed to slide to the side and step back. Unfortunately, this was exactly what she wanted. Morte slid her blade from it's sheathe and thrust it toward my face. I could feel the metal tip of the weapon slip across my cheekbone, cutting a thin line into the skin, and she then proceeded to throw a ball of concentrated shadows into my diaphragm. Stumbling back, I covered the cut across my face and reached for my chakram. Morte pounced and began slamming punch after punch into my body. At first I wanted to fight back, but something stopped me. Instead of dodging or blocking, I planted my feet firmly in the ground and stood against her vicious onslaught, not wincing or shying away. This change in attitude did not affect Morte as she continued lashing out against me, but I could sense her brother bristle in anxiousness. Every punch that connected with my undefended body made him tense and focus on me intently. The rest of my comrades were likewise concerned. If there was thing I didn't do, it was just stand there and take abuse. It just wasn't who I was. Then again, I wasn't feeling like myself. This seemed to put everyone on edge.

There was a strange tension in the middle of my chest. It felt like a piece of string was being pulled on from both ends and the middle was beginning to fray from the stress. The fibers were beginning to snap apart and unfamiliar thoughts started racing through my mind. It was obvious from that point on what was happening. The key that Morte was searching for was the exact same thing that had taken over me in the middle of my fight with Ghost. It was the same thing that caused the voice in my head and it was the same thing that was surging power throughout my body. The seal that both of my comrades had placed on it could not hold it back and I now understood why. Deep inside, I didn't want it to be held back. Subconsciously, I was tearing away the hard work they had done to protect me and counteracted every measure they had taken. I wanted to steal a power that was not mine in the first place. I was no different from any of them except for the fact that I hadn't been able to recognize what it was. Now…there was nothing left to hide.

One final punch was all that was needed to snap the string. I reeled back only long enough to spin and slam my knee into the middle of her gut. As she fell back, I grabbed her by her throat and proceeded to crush my knuckles into the middle of her face. Releasing her to free my hand, I turned the tables and lashed into her just as she had done to me. She was unable to plant her feet firmly on the ground as I had and after each fist I threw into her, she was sent scrambling back. I grinned viciously and allowed this power to flow through my limbs. It was just about to take control of me when a strange image passed through my mind. I closed my eyes and regained my composure. This one little memory was enough for me to control the power and still allow it to flow through my body without succumbing to it. I spun on my heels and kicked her back once again. This time she flew out of the ring and was sent skidding across the grass into the wall. I stopped at the edge of the ring and stared at her seriously. My breathing was ragged and I could feel the exhaustion beginning to attack my endurance. Amazingly enough, I was able to stand tall and look down my nose at my opponent, thinking that she wasn't worth anything in this fight. My confidence grew as she struggled to sit up and a sense of pride ran through me. This fight was a good as done and I was the winner.

"_Don't get cocky you dimwit!"_

I froze and felt as though cold ice water had been dumped on my spine. What was I thinking? This entire time, Morte always seemed to pull a trick out of her sleeve that I hadn't seen coming and it was just enough to continually knock me on my ass. There was no reason for me to be getting this full of myself. All I had to do was let my guard down long enough for her to come back and get the upper hand. I tensed and crouched on the ground reaching for my chakram to prepare for another onslaught. Both of us were nearing our breaking points and I prayed that the end of our match was getting closer. Morte slowly pushed herself to her feet and used the wall behind her for support to look at me. Her hair fell like a curtain over her face and only slits between strands allowed me to see what had become of her. Bruises were beginning to form on her face and a steady stream of blood was pouring down the side of her face as well as her broken nose. Absolute hatred flashed in her eyes and I could see her gnashing her teeth against each other. Fighting instinct no longer drove her and I could see the desire for vengeance take over Morte's mind.

"Its time to die, pup!" Morte screamed and suddenly threw her hands out before her. A stream of shadows shot forth from her fingertips and before I could move, the attack slammed right into both of my eyes. I screamed out as I stumbled back holding my face. Unlike the illusion she had used on me before, I was positive that this was a new attack that wrapped its way over my eyes, officially blinding me. I closed my useless eyes and was forced to rely on other things. Of course, I wasn't as skilled as the rest of my comrades at such a disadvantage and I could hear Morte run toward me. The sound of her feet pushing off the ground came to my attention and I wasn't sure where she was. It didn't take long. In an instant, the shadows left my eyes and as I looked up, Morte came crashing down on me. She slammed her knee into my chest and my back met with the floor of the ring. Still in a state of shock, I couldn't even breathe before Morte had raised both of her blades over her head and buried them into each of my shoulders, pinning me to the ring. I screamed as I felt blood soak the clothes around the new wounds.

"Rin!" Yusuke and Kuwabara shouted at the same time as I gasped in pain as she drove the blades even deeper into my shoulders. It had reached the point that I couldn't even scream at the pain anymore. The only thing I could do was curse my own stupidity. I knew that if I let my guard down that Morte would take advantage of it and low and behold, look what happened. IDIOT!

"Nicely done sister. I was beginning to wonder if she was too much for you. It's good to see that you were merely having an off day," Azra's smooth voice cut through the air. I heard him sigh and continue, "Not that I haven't enjoyed this, Morte, but it would be nice if you wrapped this up and we could get on with our plans. I am about burned out on seeing this demoness still alive."

"You have no idea, Azra. This pest has been bothering me for far too long," Morte answered as she stared down at me. There was only murder in her eyes and the fire that had been caused by pure fighting instinct had been extinguished. All that was left was the woman who wanted to kill me. Fear tugged at the corner of my mind.

"If there's a secret move to get out of this, Rin may want to do it now," Ghost whispered in a stunned voice. Koenma said something under his breath, but the pounding in my head drowned it out.

"Agreed…This isn't going as well as I would've hoped," Kurama replied in a voice that was strained. Even through I could not look at them, I could imagine the expressions on their faces. To my surprise, Hiei remained absolutely silent and I couldn't even sense if he was still there. I tilted my head back to try and see but I couldn't. Instead I focused my attention on Morte as she placed her hands firmly around my throat. She began to strangle me and leaned down close to whisper something in my ear.

"You could've been something great, Rin. It's a shame you have to die like this. Although, in all honesty, you're of little consequence. Your friends will live the lives they were meant to…that is until I get my hands on the jewel. Everything you ever loved…will be mine."

Fire erupted inside of my chest and I grit my teeth together. The fog caused from the lack of oxygen quickly cleared and I screamed in anger. I was unsure what happened after that, but I was faintly aware of kicking Morte in the chest and ripping the weapons out of my shoulders. When I got to my feet, a raging inferno surrounded me and the only thing on my mind was a plan. It was a last ditch effort to win this fight and if it didn't work, nothing else would. Protected by the flames I had unconsciously called to surround me, I held my hand out before with the palms open face up. Taking a deep breath, I focused on splitting my demon power into two parts. A faint glow surrounded my hands and a half of a yin-and-yang appeared on each hand. My power began to split and was flowing into each hand. The doppelganger was beginning to form and I almost stopped upon realizing something. In my rush to initiate my plan, I had focused clearly enough on the quantity of power that was forming in each hand. The amount of power that was pooling in my left hand was a bit stronger than the power that was in my right hand. The split was nearly complete and there were only seconds left for me to make a decision. Knowing that this was going to be a pain in the ass, I made my decision and reabsorbed the amount of power I wanted and threw the other half as hard as I could into the doppelganger. As soon as she stood next to me, we quickly shifted into a fighting position and allowed the inferno to fizzle out, leaving us to be standing in the middle of the ring.

"Enough playing games, Morte!" both the doppelganger and I shouted in aggravation. We pushed against each other and dashed toward Morte. The plan was flawless, except for the fact that she could easily tell that one of us was stronger than the other. Each of us snatched up one of her blades on the ground and aimed it at her as she rushed into the final confrontation.

"What an ingenious plan. It's unfortunate that you split your power unevenly. I know exactly where you are pup! You're power is pulsing! The stronger one is the real Rin Ishida!" Morte laughed as she jumped into the air and entered the assault. The three of us entered a furious three-way sparring match and the entire time, I could my strength slipping away from me. I couldn't keep this split up for much longer and would need to stop controlling the doppelganger's action if I intended on actually finishing the fight with Morte. Of course my thoughts were cut short as Morte kicked me square in the middle of the chest. I hit the ring and just managed to sit up when I saw something that shocked and astounded me. Morte had landed in the ring a mere yard away from me and had buried her hand deep into the gut of the doppelganger. She smiled in content and looked at it saying, "You can't trick me."

"Heh…just did," the doppelganger cough as it began to fade out of existence. By this time, I was directly behind Morte and I thrust her own sword through her back. To my disappointment, I had managed to miss every vital organ in the area, but the entire blade was sticking all the way through her back and out her stomach. Her body became rigid in shock and I heard a gasp escape her lips. Unlike a number of the demons around me, I was unable to enjoy the sight of the sword sticking through her back and even though I was aware that it could worsen my situation, I jerked the sword from out of her back. My mind was dazed from everything that had occurred and I was unable to see what would happen next. As I stepped away from Morte, the demoness summoned the last bit of strength that she had and called forth an orb of shadows. She shoved it into the middle of my chest and then proceeded to punch me in the face. I skid across the ground for a few yards and then slowed to a stop near where I had stood at the beginning of the fight. I could feel the concentration of shadows in my body and it was almost like my lungs were going to collapse within themselves. There was nothing I could do to stop it.

"_Reverse it! You are strong enough for a small task such as that!"_ Hiei's voice snapped through my ears. Determination shot through me once again and I closed my eyes. Amazingly enough there was still a decent amount of energy inside of me and I focused all of it in the center of my chest. It consumed the orb she had prior thrown into me and soon squashed it into nothingness. I gasped for air, feeling the ability to breathe almost normally again. I smiled at myself in pride and realized that now I had something to be proud of in this fight. I glance at Morte and winced in pain. It was pretty sad that it hurt to even move my head. The sound of my own raspy breathing echoed through my head and my vision began to blur. If Morte would stay down, that would be the end of the match and I would be declared the winner, but I knew full well that she wouldn't do that. Not even two minutes later she was on her feet and launching an attack at me that reminded me of an miniature sun covered in darkness.

I reacted on instinct and threw my lightning at the middle of the attack. It wasn't a lot, but it was just enough to cause the entire thing to explode in the center of the ring. I heard Morte hit the ground and skid while I planted my feet and managed to stay stationary. A cloud of dust surrounded us and I was not longer able to see. All of my fighting energy was officially used up and I was with only enough to stay conscious. Even that was questionable. I attempted to see through the cloud, to figure our whether or not Morte was in better condition than I was, but it was too thick to see anything outside of three feet around me. Exhaustion hit and I staggered on my feet.

The only thing that I could do was succumb to my screaming legs. They buckled underneath me and I hit the ground. Landing on my side caused more pain to sear through my battered body and I could barely focus my eyes. Morte was on her knees and the smoke that surrounded us was beginning to dissipate. Knowing that despite the fact that I was completely exhausted that this was not the end, I pushed myself to my knees and used my hands to keep myself sitting up. I gingerly shook my head and despite wanting to pass out, I looked to where Morte was and allowed my vision to refocus.

When I could finally see, it was like ice had been dumped on my spine. Morte was not alone. Her brother, Azra, was standing at her side supporting her. I glanced around in shock and saw that the smoke was still thick enough to conceal us and my heart began to sink. I was a fool to think that they would've let this fight play out fairly. Now, I was going to get what I had coming to me for being naïve. Azra and Morte were conversing in hushed tones, no doubt trying to keep themselves from being found out by the referees, and I could see that Azra had a dagger in his hand. Morte's weapons were still close by and I figured that if they played it the right way, he could stab me to death and pass it off as Morte's kill. Soon, the siblings looked up at me and I heard Morte hiss, "There's no way in hell I'll let her leave this battle alive. Kill her!"

"Understood," Azra whispered as he slowly got to his feet. I looked at him with indifference and just closed my eyes. There was no way in hell I could do anything about this…I mean, I could even lift a single finger off the ground from where I sat, let alone put up a decent defense to keep a demon like Azra at bay.

"Why am I not surprised," I gasped as pain shot through me. My arms collapsed under me and I fell to my side once again. I rolled slightly and opened my eyes to see the siblings. I could do nothing but watch as Azra prepared his weapon. Damn it! Why did I blow all of my power in that last attack?

"You were a formidable opponent pup. We allowed you to grow too strong, but no longer," he answered and darted forward. Closing my eyes, I waited for the final blow. Astoundingly, it never came. Instead the sound of metal colliding and a brief struggle reached me. There was silence and a breeze blew around us. There was a loud collective gasp and then a very indignant Koto began to rant.

"What just happened? Excuse me, but there's not supposed to be any interference in this fight! I'm gonna have to ask you two to step out of the ring!"

"You're going to call this match for what it really is, a draw. Morte and Rin are both unable to fight. This fighter, who just so happens to be Morte's older brother, was the first to step into the ring and judging by the dagger in his hand, I don't think he was attempting to help Rin. If I had not interfered, you would have had quite the situation on your hands. As it stands, I saved you the trouble. Now call this fight," Ghost's calm, but firm voice replied. It took me a minute, but I was able to force my eyes open and see what had happened. Azra was only five feet away from me and was no doubt about to finish the job. Ghost used the smoke as a cover and swiftly put an end to their devious plan. Meanwhile the rest of my group ran toward the ring to see what was going to happen next. It was a struggle to stay conscious long enough for me to find out myself.

"Uh…What should we do Koto?" Juri asked in confusion as I heard another figure skid to a stop beside me. A pair of arms wrapped around me and I was pulled into a sitting position. To further my surprise, it was Hiei who now held me in his arms. I looked at him for a moment and he kept his gaze locked on Morte and Azra. I then followed to look at them as well. I couldn't argue that I wasn't completely there, but now I officially had no clue what was going on.

"Call it a draw, for that is what it is," Azra growled as he broke away from the deadlock with Ghost and shook his head. He hid away his weapon and walked over to his sister. He took her into his arms and I realized that she had fainted from the stress of our battle. Azra looked directly into my eyes and left me with this chilling message, "This isn't over yet pup. You're still the only way that we can get the Yin-Yang Eye. We'll be back. Fairly soon."

Shadows rose up from the ground and completely enveloped them. When the darkness finally sunk back to the ground, they were gone. A sense of calm washed over me and my body decided that it was done listening to what my brain told it to do. My head fell back limply and my eyes shut once again. After that I wasn't exactly sure what was said or what happened next until I sensed someone else enter my mind.

"_Rin…can you hear me?"_ Hiei's voice whispered through my head. I could feel my body gently being shaken. More than ever, I just wanted to fall asleep and ignore what was going on around me, but Hiei was persistent, _"Rin…Rin!"_

There wasn't enough energy in me to speak, but there was enough for me to open my eyes, even if it was only halfway. I was unable to force my eyes to focus, but despite that I could still see the shadows of the group surrounding me. There was no hope of sensing who all was around me, but the way I figured it, that didn't matter. The voices I heard were enough to tell that I had been surrounded by my friends. The sounds were distinct and I knew that for the moment, Morte had been banished from the island and was no longer any concern to me. I was safe for the time being.

"Hey, if you can hear me Rin, I'm sorry about what happened about…Genkai," Yusuke said in a quiet whisper that was barely audible. I merely lifted the corner of my mouth in a smile and allowed my eyes to close once again. Soon, I was asleep, drifting away from the pain and the voices. It was nice to finally be able to rest…even though I knew it would be short lived.

_-Until Next Time- _

_**ME:**_** I hope the length makes up for not killing Morte like everyone wants. She's too good a villain and I need her and her brother to stir up more trouble. Otherwise I couldn't stay in the Yu-Yu Hakusho world much longer.**

_**Ghost:**_** Indeed. I have to say that was a fascinating fight to watch. **

_**Hiei:**___**Who would've thought that Morte was so easy to fool.**

_**ME:**_** Well, she's evil, but I never said she was the sharpest sword in the shop. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and will continue reading. Please drop a review and let me know what you thought!**


	30. Into The Finals

_**ME:**_** Well, that was a fun chapter…now I have to figure out exactly how to keep getting better and not let this story take a turn for the worst. I have big plans for this little story here…well, its not exactly little now that it's reached 30 chapters huh? And over 200 reviews too…holy shit that's a lot of big numbers…**

_**Hiei:**_** Hn…..**

_**Ghost**__**:**_** I do believe that he's annoyed about how you ended the last chapter.**

_**ME:**_** Oh well…he can get over it. I had fun with it and plan on getting better with the fight scenes. I am glad that everyone liked it so much. Wow…30 chapters later and I still have a decent amount of readers…you all are so great and I'm proud to write this because of you. **

_**Ghost:**_**Perhaps you should continue writing instead of using up valuable time to write "Thank You's" to your readers.**

_**ME:**_** You're becoming as mouthy as Hiei is… Perhaps I need to invest in a fangirl attack directed your way Ghost.**

_**Ghost:**_** I would advise against it. I have my ways at getting back with you. **

_**ME:**_** Alright, whatever. I don't own anything but my own characters. Chapter Start.**

_(Bows, I would like to apologize to all my readers for the extremely slow updates. My mother was nearly killed in January this year and it's only just begun to slow down here at the beginning of August. So, with many of those obstacles behind me I hope to have more updates out a little quicker.)_

_**Chapter 30: Into The Finals**_

"Hey, if you can hear me Rin, I'm sorry about what happened about…Genkai," Yusuke said in a quiet whisper that was barely audible. I merely lifted the corner of my mouth in a smile and allowed my eyes to close once again. Soon, I was asleep, drifting away from the pain and the voices. It was nice to finally be able to rest…even though I knew it would be short lived.

_-In A Deep Sleep-_

The sound of waves crashed through my mind. I could almost feel the spray of the ocean. Upon opening my eyes I could see the sun beating down on me. I was standing knee deep in water on a secluded beach and my hands were shading my eyes protectively. There was nothing but nature all around. I couldn't smell the exhaust of a car and couldn't even hear anything but the water that I was standing in. It would have been so relaxing…except for the fact that I felt so alone. Looking over myself, I could see that I was no longer injured and it was like the battle with Morte never happened. I slowly turned to face the beach and moved across the sands. The waves began to recede and I stood in the middle of the beach looking around. I couldn't be sure where I was or what I was looking for as my eyes scanned the ground before me. Would there be a friendly face looking back at me, waiting to gesture me over to them? Would there be the face of an enemy waiting to attack when I was at my most vulnerable? Or would there be the face of a stranger, as there always seemed to be something new waiting for me just around the corner in this world.

It turned out that the third option had been the one that held true. As I finished my slow rotation I noticed a lone solitary figure standing on the far right side of the beach. She had a small frame and was standing just outside the reach of the waves, staring out at the water. Her long hair was flowing out around her, shielding her face from view and the glare from the sunlight prevented me from seeing too many details about her. Then a deep rumbling suddenly broke through the sky. I swiftly looked up to see the once calm sky looking dark and dangerous. Concern for the small figure I had just seen overwhelmed me, but when I looked back to see how she was reacting to everything, she simply disappeared. Before I was even able to process this new development, everything turned dark and all the water disappeared from the beach. Fear gripped me and I looked up seeing a very large, very inescapable tidal wave heading straight toward me.

There wasn't time to react. There wasn't even time to run. All I could do was stand and watch the wall of water crash against the beach and swallow me whole. I was thrown into its darkest depths and just before everything disappeared from my sight I saw a shadowed figure, standing on the beach where I had been just mere seconds before. The figure was tall and the only thing I could clearly see where its eyes. They looked like two opposing sides. Like Yin-and-Yang.

There was nothing I could do, but allow myself to me swept away inside of the gigantic wave.

_-Sometime Later-_

The scent of rain slowly reached my nose and I could hear the light thuds of water droplets against a glass window. There was a crash of thunder and I gently rolled over onto my side. There was the tug of bandages across my body and there was a thin blanket that slid off my shoulders as I moved. The little voice in my head begged me to just slip right back into sleep and ignore the world around me, but the memory of the fight slowly broke through the surface of my mind. I was reassured that at the moment, Morte and her brother were no longer a threat to me, but I wondered what happened after I had lost consciousness. So, against my inner wishes, I allowed my eyes to open and glanced around. At first it was difficult to focus. It must've been late at night. There was no possible way for me to know how long I had been unconscious or if the finals had even started yet. That fact alone unsettled me and I moved to place both of my arms underneath me. Satisfied that they were stable enough to support my weight, I pushed myself up slowly and allowed the cover to fall. Once I was able to sit up, I subconsciously brought my hand up to my face and ran my fingertips across the cut Morte had left on me with her weapon. It was nearly healed and upon glancing at any of my injuries, I realized that they were clean and bandaged. I wrinkled my nose slightly and wondered how long I had been out of it.

There was the eerie glow of light seeping through the crack under the door to my room and lightning lit up the room, alerting me to the fact that I was not alone. I blinked at the shadow who stood in the corner of the room, silent and unmoving. I sat up and little straighter and pulled the blanket over my body realizing that aside from a tank top and shorts all that was covering my body were bandages…I didn't even have a bra on…I was feeling a lot more shy than I ever have in my entire life. When I opened my mouth to speak, he suddenly darted forward and gently placed his hand over my mouth. His almond shaped eyes locked with mine and he spoke telepathically, _"Unless you want to alert them to the fact you're awake and be interrogated on what the hell you think you were doing, I would suggest you remain quiet."_

"_How…how long have I been out of it? What happened at the ring?" _I asked looking at him in confusion.

"_You exhausted yourself. Yusuke was so inclined to give you a small amount of his energy to make sure you would heal quickly. You've been unconscious for two days now. The finals are just around the corner. As for what happened in the ring, Ghost interfered with Azra and Morte's underhanded plot to kill you and they were forced to retreat. The fight was declared a draw and we then brought you back here for Yukina to tend to your wounds,"_ Hiei answered removing his hand from my mouth and sitting back on the bed silently. He looked out to make sure that no one was coming toward the room. Once he was satisfied that we were alone, he returned his attention to me. He moved slightly and I noticed a strange tear in the edge of his cloak. I blinked and tried to figure out when that happened. He seemed to notice that I was staring intently at him, "_What?"_

"_Why is your cloak shredded at the bottom?"_ I replied pointing at it. He seemed a little put off by this sudden question and he merely "hn-ed" in response. He then gestured for me to look at my leg and once sure that I was decent, I did. There wrapped around my injured leg was the strip of the cloth that had been torn from his cloak. I blinked once again and was unable to process what he meant. Sensing my confusion he scoffed at me.

"_The wound was bleeding profusely by the end of your match. I was forced to carry you back due to the fact you were unconscious and instead of getting your blood all over me, I stopped the bleeding,"_ Hiei answered shaking his head at me.

"_T-thank you,"_ I stammered in shock. It was a surprise to see him tending to my injuries so carefully and then brushing aside like he didn't do anything at all. Honestly, that fight with Morte was the closest to death I had ever come and it was comforting to know that they all had been there cheering me on. Even though Hiei remained silent most of the time, I knew that he was watching out for me. The fact that he was in the ring, ready to take down Azra just as Ghost had been, proved that in reality, I did mean something to him. Although, I wasn't quite sure why Ghost had been so quick to react…

More than anything I wanted to sit there and talk with him, but my current condition continued to keep creeping into my mind. In absolute embarrassment I tightly wrapped my arms around myself and held my shoulders. They were healing up nicely and there would soon be no longer a need for all of the bandages I had. There probably wasn't a need for them now, but Yukina and the rest of the group were just being careful considering there was so much mystery as to who I actually was. I glanced at Hiei, who was not reacting to me in anyway, once again and asked, _"So, how much do they know about me now?"_

"_Due to the detective's anger, Kurama and I were forced to tell them everything you had told us, however Genkai was never mentioned. The situation hasn't been fully realized by all of our teammates,"_ Hiei answered simply shrugging his shoulders. He sensed my discomfort and acting like nothing was out of the ordinary, the swordsman got to his feet. He began making his way toward the door, but suddenly stopped. As if sensing my unspoken question, he glanced back and stated, _"I'm leaving to get some final training in. I would suggest you not doing anything stupid to make us come to your rescue. You just might be more useless than Kuwabara at this point. And to answer your question, none of them hate you."_

"_Wait…I didn't ask you that…" _I muttered looking at him in confusion.

He glanced away and opened the door. Before closing it behind him he said, _"You talk in your sleep. A habit you may wish you correct."_

I sat there in absolute shock, not sure how to handle what he had just said. What had I been saying in my sleep? Who heard the things I have been saying in my sleep? Ah shit. Had I just unwittingly caused more trouble for myself? DAMN IT! It was true that I had a very bad habit of talking in my sleep. My mom had often made jokes about it, but more often than not everything I said was in my self-created language of jibberish. No one ever knew what I was saying…so why the hell did I suddenly start speaking English and why the hell did it have to be when Hiei was around to hear it?

"How is she doing?" I heard Yusuke ask in a concerned way.

"Stubborn. She should be moving by tomorrow," the Jagan-user answered curtly.

"Well, that's a relief to hear. I was worried when she didn't have a lotta energy after the fight," Kuwabara sighed in relief. I heard them move to sit on the couch and sighed, happy that they wouldn't send anyone else in to watch over me. He then laughed and continued, "It kinda reminded of me of what happened back when we were fighting the Saint Beasts. Except this time we were worried about her dying instead of Urameshi!"

"She never ceases to surprise you does she? I never would've imagined that she would take the weaker part of her split power and make the doppelganger stronger than she was herself. Morte would of course sense the discrepancy in power and her attention would be diverted to the stronger half. It's ingenious and so unlike her," Kurama's voice came from the other side of the door. Apparently he had perched himself against the wall. I heard him chuckle slightly and continue, "With all my dealings of people, this group continues to show that there are exceptions to every rule."

"Indeed…but I would like further explanation into who she is and what she's doing here. The story that Kurama and Hiei told us worries me. How could she possibly be from…another reality? One that isn't a part of the Ningenkai, Reikai or even the Makai? It doesn't seem possible," Botan muttered darkly causing my stomach to plummet. If she would ask questions like that, I shuttered to think what Koenma would be thinking of.

"Come on, Botan, is it really that surprising? After all the crap Koenma has put me through? I'm not surprised," Yusuke yawned in a disinterested way. I heard him stand and say, "I'm going to bed. Got a heck of a day tomorrow."

"Wait Yusuke!" Botan called out, but was too late as I heard a door shut behind him. There was a heavy sigh and Botan gave up, "It's late and we should all go to bed. Tomorrow is the last free day before the tournament. Goodnight team."

Everyone agreed and after a lot of shuffling, outside of my bedroom was officially quiet. A few minutes later I was satisfied that there was no one watching my room so closely. I pushed back the covers and placed my feet on the ground. I tested my legs and was happy to see that I was strong enough to stand on my own. I stumbled over to my bag full of clothes and pulled out an outfit. Some of the bandages were not needed anymore and I unwrapped them due to the fact that I hated feeling weaker than I already did. Once that was finished I slipped into my outfit and put some shoes on. Creeping up to my door, I listened and waited to see if anyone had heard me moving around. There was absolute silence on the other side of the door and I felt confident to open it as quietly as I possibly could. To my relief it didn't even so much creak I pushed it open and peaked out to look around. Instantly I was met with a very surprising shadow leaning against the couch that was just outside of my room. I blinked in shock and swallowed, "Well, hi there Yusuke…I thought you went to bed."

"I had a feeling you'd sneak out of your room at some point. I wanted to talk to you," Yusuke said smiling his normal goofy smile. My heart plummeted and I looked out at the rain still pouring down against the window. Even if it was only for a minute or two, I had wanted to go stand and let the rain fall around me. For some reason it reminded me of home. Yusuke seemed to sense this and walked over to place his hand on my shoulder as he said, "We can talk outside if that would make you feel better. Come on."

It was only a matter of minutes until we were standing out in the front of the building. I closed my eyes and lifted my face to let the rain fall around me. My memory flashed back to when I was at home. I usually barely managed to sneak out for ten minutes when mom realized where I was and was calling me to come back inside before I got sick. The cool water felt refreshing on my skin and I sighed. I heard Yusuke chuckling and I opened my eyes to turn my attention on him, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. It just doesn't surprise me that you would enjoy standing out in the rain just enjoying the water. I think I saw you do that once back at Genkai's when she was whipping both of us into shape," Yusuke answered shaking his head at me. I rubbed the back of my neck and shook my head.

"She really did keep close tabs on us didn't she…although at night time you were so far gone that even setting a bomb off wouldn't have woke you up. It gave me plenty of time to roam and look around there. I liked it there. The temple felt like it was home…like nothing could go wrong there…" I trailed off and moved some of the hair from my face. I remembered the nights I spent there and even though I knew the time was limited, I enjoyed it all. Genkai wasn't exactly motherly…but she sure as hell was fun to be around.

"The old woman sure did give a certain comfort…when she wasn't beating you to a bloody pulp…" Yusuke muttered glancing up at the sky. An awkward silence fell around us and I tried to figure out a way to get rid of it. Before I could say anything though, Yusuke struck up a conversation, "After everything that Kurama, Hiei, and Genkai told me, you really are something…special aren't you, Rin? At first, none of us could believe what we were told but…then again with every weird thing that keeps happening to our little group, it doesn't seem so surprising. Morte and that new guy, Azra, seem to have a real interest in you and that can't mean anything good. So, it doesn't matter to me if you know what's gonna happen."

"It…it doesn't?" I asked, somewhat shocked.

"Well, I'd be lyin' if I said I wasn't interested, but I'm not going to ask you anything about it. I'm going to keep my promise to the old woman. I'm going to do what I can to help you out and what happens, happens. There's nothing I expect you to do about it from this point on," Yusuke said walking out to stand right in front of me. He brought his hand up and held his knuckles right in front of my face. It was the exact same spot he had punched me for the first time, back when I was still new to the world. The detective smiled and then held out his hand, saying, "I want to help and whether that means getting you back home or what. I'm right there behind you."

I smiled and took his hand, "Well, I don't even know what I'm supposed to be doing yet so you're going to be running circles for a while. You sure you're ok with that?"

"Psh! That's what I get on a daily basis dealing with Koenma every day. I can handle it," Yusuke said shrugging and brushing the tip of his nose with his thumb. I laughed and suddenly a bolt of lightning shot across the sky. I looked up in surprise and seconds later a crash of thunder rumbled through the air. The storm seemed like it was beginning to get worse and I could feel the wind get very cold. It was about time that we made our way back into the safety of the apartments. Besides, I was hoping that I would be able to talk to everyone and clear up everything that was going on with me.

Just as I turned to face Yusuke, the world spun out of focus. A pain rose in my chest and the next thing I knew, was that my face was pressed against the wet grass. From there I slid into unconsciousness once again.

-_Sometime Later-_

When I opened my eyes, I was back in my bed. Except this time, my head was perfectly clear and all of the pain had faded from my body. Apparently, my little outing with Yusuke had been too much of an exertion on my body and it had collapsed on me. I bet he handled that with a joke and some humor at my expense. I slowly got out of the bed and once I was rid of the sleep, I could sense Yusuke's intense aura coming from the other room. I quickly unwrapped the rest of my bandages and replaced my outfit. Then I stood and slipped out of my bedroom silently. Yusuke didn't even seem to notice and continued to meditate on his aura. I winced slightly and took a breath. It was almost like feeling Hiei's aura. It was so overwhelming and thick that I moved over to a chair and took a seat. Yusuke was lost in his concentration and I remained absolutely silent.

"URAMESHI! Y'GOTTA SEE THIS! It's awesome! Super awesome! The ultimate weapon!" Kuwabara screamed as I heard him running as fast as he could. I smirked and heard him getting closer. I looked over my shoulder at him when he threw open the door with all his might and stepped into the room with the most excited look on his face. "Hope you're prepared to-"

Yusuke's aura hit him square in the chest and he stopped right where he was. Yusuke was slowly drawn from his focus and he let his power relax. Once he had, the fighter glanced over his shoulder and was surprised to see Kuwabara standing there. He looked at his comrade sheepishly and said, "Oh…hi."

"Hi yourself!" Kuwabara choked trying to compose himself. I smirked somewhat and leaned against the arm of the chair, just waiting for the others to slowly appear. I tried to focus my own power on finding them and was shocked to find both of them. Kurama was standing directly behind me and his aura was so relaxed that I wasn't surprised that I hadn't sensed him before. Hiei was coming around the corner with his own power subdued as well. I sighed and was slightly disappointed that they were so much stronger than me. If Morte and Azra tried to fight any member of the group, they would get destroyed. I was sure of that. Kuwabara bristled about his new power and said, "Doesn't matter! We each have different chi! My powers a one-of-a-kind aura sword, y'know!"

"That any reason to bray like a witless donkey?" Hiei's voice broke out from behind Kuwabara in the doorway. We all turned to look and see the swordsman walking in. My eyes instantly went to his right arm. It looked like he stuck it in the hottest fire he could find and just held it there until he was satisfied that his skin looked charred enough. No matter how much he acted like it was nothing, I knew it had to hurt and I just closed my eyes and looked away so I wouldn't have to see it anymore. It made me angry, but at the same time I knew I had no right to be. So, I just shut it all out.

"Hiei…" Yusuke said trailing off as he too took in the damage to his arm. Yusuke understood that Hiei did it for the power, but like myself didn't exactly enjoy seeing him in such a state.

"Man, your arm! It looks…crisped!" Kuwabara gaped in absolute shock.

"The dragon proved stubborn, so I had to get tough," Hiei answered and I noticed him lifting his hand to look over the burns on his skin. I slowly stood and stared at him with an unfathomable expression.

"I'm sure it's only as stubborn as the one who is trying to tame it. Perhaps next time you can do it without harming yourself. After all, we have demons lined up who would be more than happy to do that for you," I snapped as I walked over to my door and leaned against it without looking at any of them. My movement wasn't so much to add emphasis on what I had just said, but more to keep myself from hearing Kurama appear behind me and cause me to jump out of my skin.

Yusuke smirked at my comment and Kuwabara laughed nervously. After muttering to himself at how crazy he thought Hiei was he said, "So, where's Kurama? Anybody know?"

"Actually I've been here a while," Kurama said appearing, just as I thought he would, out of thin air. Had he done that directly behind me, I would've freaked out and lost all of my composure.

"Well alright then. How about Ghost?" Kuwabara asked trying to regain his own composure and to handle the fact that he didn't sense Kurama at all.

"He said he had a few things that he had to take care of and wouldn't see any of us until tomorrow morning when he would accompany us into the stadium," Hiei said effectively silencing any further question. That meant all of us were in attendance and there was no other reason to delay our meeting.

"Rin, how are you feeling after your fight?" Kurama asked looking over me in concern. I merely smirked at him.

"I'm alright. Just a little tired. Although I must admit that I'm surprised I was interrogated the second I woke up," I answered with a grin. Yusuke laughed and sat down on the couch directly in front of where I was standing. Even though his back was facing me, I could imagine the look on his face when he started talking.

"Well, the truth is that we've heard everyone else's take on the situation except for yours. Maybe you should tell us what's going on."

"Get comfortable, cuz this may take a little time," I said as I too moved over to where the window was and sat down so I could look at the window. I smirked inwardly, realizing that I had just taken Hiei's normal seat. That didn't encourage me to move however and I stared out the window as I began to explain everything to them. It took a little longer than I thought it would, but that was mostly because Kuwabara kept interrupting me to ask question. It soon became apparent that I was beginning to get very exhausted from telling the tale and Kurama gently suggested that Kuwabara refrain from asking anymore questions unless he wanted me to pass out on the spot. This quickly quieted the fighter and I offered a smile in gratitude. From that point on, explaining everything went a lot smoother and when I finished, they didn't have any other questions for me. What truly surprised me was how easily they accepted it and just let it slide to the side. Maybe, I was worried about nothing. It didn't seem to matter how different from them I was. I was part of their group now and with that, they accepted me without question. It was kinda nice.

Our meeting quickly changed from being focused on me to focused on Yusuke. He took control and quickly told us that Genkai would not be there for the finals. Kurama and Hiei instantly knew that something had happened and I was the only one who knew exactly what had happened. Kuwabara was blissfully unaware and Yusuke was content to leave it that way. The meeting was over in a matter of time and every disappeared to prepare for tomorrow. Meanwhile, I stared out the window. How had I survived this long? It was a shock, even to someone as stubborn as me. I ran my hand through my hair and tried to quiet my own mind. A few hours passed and pure exhaustion swept me away.

_-The Next Morning-_

"Come on, Rin. Wake up," a slightly nasal voice whispered from over me. I felt a hand on my shoulder and slowly opened my eyes to see Kuwabara trying to coax me out of sleep. He seemed somewhat tense and I realized that my fists were balled. I relaxed and slowly stretched out the crick in my neck. It would seem I had fallen asleep on my perch on the window and such an awkward position did work with my body.

"Yeah I'm up…how long until the tournament starts?" I yawned and stepped away from him.

"You have two hours, but I wanted to make sure you had time to get ready. How are you feeling?" he asked looking over me like a protective older brother would.

"Hey, relax. You're gonna stroke out if you keep worrying about me. I'm just fine. Now if you'll excuse me I need to check on something in my room," I smiled patting him on the shoulder and then disappeared into my room as promised. Anxiety was bubbling in my chest and instantly my eyes honed in on my locket lying on the bedside table. Someone must have put it there for me to find and it took me a while to realize that I didn't have it around my neck. When I tried to put it on though, my fingers twitched and it fell right beside the bed. Growling in annoyance, I bent down and just as I had it in my hands again, I noticed something else. So I reached under the dark bed and wrapped my hand around a small glass-like sphere. Upon further inspection in better light, I noticed that it was a pitch black jewel…quite similar to the tear jems that Yukina created. I held it between my thumb and forefinger as I lifted it up to the light and stared at it intently. My breath caught in my chest and I whispered, "There is no way, this is what I think it is…"

I felt like a bomb had just gone off inside my head and there were too many thoughts for me to comprehend. So, I shoved the jewel into the pocket of my jeans and snapped the clasp of my necklace in place before standing up. I snatched a jacket off the bed and walked out of the room, determined to get as far from my room as I could. When I rounded the corner, I nearly bowled straight into Ghost and merely uttered a quick greeting before disappearing into the elevator to take me to the bottom floor. My head was spinning and I nearly fell out when the door opened. Surprisingly enough, I fell straight into the shocked arms of Hiei…who dropped me after realizing who it was.

"Nice. Great. Yet another testament to my lack of grace. Bloody hell," I hissed as I pushed myself up to my feet and held my nose. Damn…it had been a while since I smacked face first into the ground and thankfully this time, I didn't break my nose. Slowly gathering myself together, I stood and said, "Well, hello there Hiei. Didn't expect you to be there or I would've watched out."

"Hn…you seem…" Hiei looked over me and tried to put his finger on my strange behavior. Before my thoughts gave me away, I pushed past him and quickly made my way down the hallway. There was no way I could bring myself to look back at him and just kept running.

"I don't know what you're talking about! See you guys when you're heading to the arena!" I called over my shoulder and dashed outside as fast as my legs could take me. Once again, I tripped over my own two feet and came to a rest underneath a tree. Once I managed to figure my own thoughts, I took the jewel out once more and inspected it carefully. There was something familiar about it and it had an aura of its own…but I could not without a shadow of a doubt say it belonged to who I thought it did. Besides, it didn't make any sense. There was no way in hell. Sighing, I put it back in my pocket and waited for us to make our way to the arena. I was so deep in my thoughts that when I finally looked up, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei were all standing directly in front of me. Yusuke reached out his hand to me and I smiled. He helped me up and I asked him, "So where is Ghost at?"

"He changed his mind at the last minute and decided to sit with the others. He felt that it would be appropriate if we all entered the final round as we did in the beginning," Kurama answered. My respect for Ghost only grew and we quickly made our way to the arena. I would've been lying if I said I didn't feel any fear in my heart as we walked, but I had done my time. I fought my battle and ended up in a deadlock with Morte. There wasn't going to be another fighter waiting for me in the ring. It was officially their battle from now on. Then again, there wasn't just fear either. I was sad…I knew that Genkai would come back, after all Yusuke and the others still needed her. It still didn't change the fact that I missed her.

I was so deep in my own thoughts that I barely realized that we reached the arena and Kuwabara once again had entered another spat with Hiei over something he had said. It didn't last long however as Juri's voice called out over the speakers, "Hello everyone, and thank you for your patience! Sorry for the delay, but now here's Team Urameshi!"

The door in front of us opened and the boys stepped out looking as badass as they ever have. They stepped out boldly into the spotlight and didn't seem to have a single worry about what was to come. I quietly followed them, but didn't make it past the main entrance before stopping dead in my tracks. My mind flashed back to standing in the ring facing Morte. Suddenly my chest began throbbing and it was hard to breathe. Anxiety took over and more than anything I wanted to turn and run away. It was Kurama who noticed my reluctance to step out with them and he doubled back to gently place his hand on my shoulder. I blinked in shock and he just smiled at me. I noticed it was the same smile he would give Shiori when he wanted to say that everything was going to be ok, even when he wasn't sure that was the case himself. There was a new side that I could see to the fighter. He didn't even know how things would end up. He knew that I knew what was going to happen, but at the same time I was faced with my own demons. Being who he was, Kurama was more worried about comforting me than focusing on what he needed too. Damn it!

"I'm fine, Kurama. Just thought about something. I'm alright now," I said with my normal confident smile and then moved past him to stand beside the rest of my group. Kurama followed suit and while the crowd was screaming for the death of our team, Juri extended her hand.

"And presenting Team Toguro!" The other set of doors opened and like shadows emerging from my darkest nightmare, the opposing team stepped into the light. They stopped directly across from us and I was somewhat comforted that an entire ring separated us. Toguro and Yusuke stared each other down and the audience went into an uproar about our teams being short on the five needed fighters. Staying on the ball, Juri whipped out the rule book and started reading, "Quiet please! According to the Tournament Rules the finals are strictly one-on-one! Whichever team takes three out of five matches will be declared the winner! If a team suffers no fatalities, then a fifth member must be called in! Honorary fighters can be called in unless they have already been used in a fight!"

"We've already hit a snag folks! Prior to this final event it was sanctioned among headquarters and the team captains that the honorary fighters on each team were allowed to fight without an audience and earlier than the rest of the teams. Morte and Rin met in the old stadium and their fight ended in a draw. According to the rules, the Honorary fighters are now null and void. There's no way to say just how things will go today!" Koto announced clarifying to the audience why Morte and I were no longer on the fighting rosters. I blinked and realized how without even meaning to, I had completely steered myself from disrupting the storyline by fighting Morte when I did. Instead of having to accommodate us in the final round, it would happen exactly like it was meant to and I was merely a spectator who got a little closer to the action than everyone else did.

"That's not fair! Honorary fighters are supposed to fight just like everyone else! This is an attempt to get an advantage from Team Urameshi! Kill them!" a fugly ass Ogre shouted from directly behind me. My ears twitched in annoyance and I spun around to shout back at him.

"Shut your mouth you pea-brained moron! Did you not just hear that it was sanctioned by the Tournament Headquarters? If you have a problem with it, come down here and fight it out!" I called out in absolute fury. Bastards! I had nearly died in that match with Morte and was only able to pull out a draw with her. What did it matter if we fought our match with just our teammates watching us? It was still a fight and it still ended in a god damned draw!

"You better watch that mouth! It might get you killed!" The demon shouted back with a smug little grin. Annoyance washed over me.

"Well, I don't see you getting off your fat ass to make that threat come true anytime soon, so go back to munching on your dull whit and come back when you actually have something original to say!" I responded coldly before turning around and focusing on the team in front of me. Kuwabara laughed.

"You tell 'em, Rin. These bozo's deserve to be told off. It's not like any of them are risking their necks in this tournament," he said clapping me across the back. I winced in pain and then just gave him a thumbs up in agreement.

The crowd erupted in demands of the teams bringing out their fifth people and cool as ever, Toguro said, "Alright. We'll bring him out."

It astounded me how he could talk normally and despite the entire audience roaring in indignation, we could hear his voice like he shouted it across the stadium. Silence fell and Sakyo stepped into the light. Frantic, almost hushed whispers took over the audience and the main question was voiced by more than half of the spectators. Can he even fight?

"Fighting's not my thing actually. But I'll enjoy a close-up view of Team Urameshi's demise. Believe me, there's no chance I'll be needed," Sakyo said calmly as he lit a cigarette and looked over us like we were nothing but bugs just waiting to be squashed. Trying to stay true to my prior expected behavior, I flipped him the birdie in response. He chuckled and said, "Well, what a little shrew."

"Bastard," I muttered in response and then turned my head toward our new arrival.

"He's confident. That's nice," Koenma said flipping his cloak over his shoulder. Kuwabara nearly pissed himself in shock and Yusuke just looked at him unimpressed. Meanwhile the Prince of the Underworld fell into his speech, "Those who govern the Underworld should avoid getting involved in affairs like this but current circumstances force me to step outside those bounds and into this arena. In the unlikely event it comes down to me and whoever, I've got an escape plan all figured out!"

Koenma revealed his Booster Rocket jet-pack proudly and I merely sweatdropped in response. Kuwabara couldn't believe that he was serious and Hiei meanwhile just stated that he would not be needed, other than to be an official place holder to satisfy the tournament morons. The Prince of the Underworld too this time to set his attention on me and telepathically say, _"Before Genkai's death, she made me vividly aware of your situation and everything that has gone on since you appeared in this world. Should we all survive this bloodbath, I would like you to know that you have the full support of our detectives on your side. You will not be interrogated as you were when you came back from fighting the Saint Beasts."_

"_Good to know, although in all honesty, I don't think you could've done that a second time. Yusuke probably would've have allowed it,"_ I replied as I turned to face our opponents once more. Juri stepped up and once again started throwing the rules around to the point where I just wanted to rip her voice box out.

"This is completely irregular! According to the rules, your alternate cannot be brought up if Genkai's still alive!"

"Well, Genkai is…" Yusuke tried to explain, but his words failed him. Sakyo mercifully intervened.

"It's alright."

Karasu mentioned our intention and no one seemed to argue the fact any further. So it was announced that the finals would officially begin and Karasu stepped into the ring, eyeing Kurama. Our kitsune merely sighed and said, "I'll take him."

Kuwabara asked Kurama a question about the juice to help bring out his fox demon form and they entered a quiet discussion. Meanwhile, I looked around the stadium. It was strange not to see Morte anywhere in sight or even expect her to be hiding around a corner to spy on me. I wanted to feel comforted, but instead I just kept wondering what she was doing right then and there. I was healed up except for a few bruises and stuff, so I could only imagine how she was doing. There had to be something that she and Azra were up to. I just wished I could know all about them like they knew about me. No matter how many times my friends said there were behind me, I was the main target and they used the dangers around me to catch me off guard. They didn't care what became of the detectives and it freaked me out that I could be the cause of so much trouble to them. I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. Finally the fighters stepped into the ring and the anticipation that filled the air was so strong that it was almost smothering. I took a breath and said, "Time to kick some ass Kurama. Show them how it's done."

"First match: Karasu vs Kurama! Begin!"

_-Until Next Time!-_

_**ME:**_** Chapter 30 done. Sorry there wasn't a lot of action in this one. Just had to set the stage for the final events of the Dark Tournament. Then onto the next chapter in the series! I am having all kinds of fun.**

_**Hiei:**_** Hn. Just hurry up and get on with the next chapter.**

_**Ghost:**_** I agree with Hiei on that. I would like to see Kurama's fight.**

_**ME:**_** Yeah alright. I'll get to working on the next chapter as soon as this is one is up and posted. Thank you everyone who is still reading and I hope to update soon! Please drop me a review! **


	31. Explosive Isn't It?

_**ME:**_** Whoot! I'm proud that I still have readers! And now we get into the bloodiest round of the Tournament. The Finals! Jeeze…now that I'm this far in the story, I can't wait to get even further and write even more scenes. Whoot! I'm so excited now.**

_**Hiei:**_** It seems that many of your readers are concerned for Kurama's well being.**

_**ME:**_** Well, I can't say that I'm surprised. Aside from the beating Kurama took earlier in the Tournament knocked him unconscious, this is the worst opponent he's faced yet. Karasu is one hell of a sadistic bastard. He always kinda gave me the creeps. **

_**Ghost:**_** This seems very interesting. I would like to see how he gets through this fight.**

_**ME:**_** I already know the ending, but I do have to say, my favorite saying from Jin comes from this fight and I will say it at the end of the chapter. This was an interesting chapter to write, but I sort of wish it could've been a little longer. Frankly, I'm worried about Hiei's fight coming up being too short too. Yeesh.**

_**Ghost:**_** She only owns her characters.**

_**Hiei:**_** …**

_**ME:**_** Uh-oh. There was no smart-ass comment. That's never a good sign at all. Chapter start!**

_**Chapter 31: Explosive Isn't It?**_

"First match: Karasu vs Kurama! Begin!"

Karasu flexed his hand and looked at Kurama in a disappointed sort of way. He sighed slightly and asked, "Is that how you want to face me? You're not here to just throw your life away, I hope."

"It's none of your business how I choose to face you and defeat you," Kurama answered coolly as he held out his hand and allowed rose petals to float out around him. Being the master of plants that he was, Kurama elegantly caused the petals to flit around him and create a shield of razor sharp rose petals. It was beautiful and extremely dangerous. My girlish side peaked at that moment and I enjoyed watching the petals move through the nonexistent wind. Even my inexperienced eyes could see the sharp edges around the petals and I could only imagine what being cut those would feel like. Kurama sure did have a knack for being extremely dangerous, but making it look good while he did it.

"Kurama seems to have raised a shield of…flower petals? Karasu's strolling right into the thick of it!" Koto shouted holding the microphone close to her mouth as she stood. Karasu didn't pay the flower petals any mind as he walked into them and Kurama remained utterly calm, not that he had any other choice in the matter. Not a single thought was able to be seen on his face and he continued to bide his time, until he would turn into the demon fox. Karasu continued walking in and was suddenly cut across the face with one of the petals. I blinked and looked at the blood dripping from the cut on his cheek. I wondered if he was expecting that or if he was genuine shocked that it happened.

"Flower petals as sharp as razors. How artful…if a tad delicate," the black haired fighter said as he looked over Kurama with ice cold eyes. Suddenly he flexed his power and I sensed him throw it out around him. The bombs soon made contact with the petals and little explosions erupted all around. This effectively eradicated the shield of petals and left nothing standing in between the two fighters. Kurama's eyes widened in shock and I looked over Karasu carefully. I had been unable to see the bombs and I realized that every single one of the fighters were in a league that I could only dream of. It was discouraging to be so weak and it made me worry that my fate would not end very well if I couldn't hold my own in a fight. That fact alone made me want to train and get stronger so I wouldn't be a burden on the rest of my friends. Otherwise I wouldn't hear the end of it from Hiei. I was brought out of my thoughts when I noticed that Karasu straightened up and looked over his opponent with eyes that revealed his satisfaction of catching Kurama off guard.

"Heh…I see this comes as a shock. You figured my angle was projecting my demonic aura into the objects I touch and destroying them from within," he purred in a way that sent chills down my spine. Sweat began to bead at Kurama's brow and the rest of our group tensed up, Hiei included. It was unusual to see Kurama get something so severely wrong in a battle and this would be a costly mistake. Hiei glanced at me for a moment, before returning his attention back to the fight. I couldn't help but wonder what that was about, but at the moment it was hard to keep my mind focused on anything outside of the ring. Meanwhile, Kuwabara was sweating bullets hoping that Kurama would transform as soon as possible. I bit my lower lip and just took a breath. No matter how bad it looked, I had one comfort. I knew how it was going to end. Karasu's eyes locked on Kurama and he continued, "So you've got it completely wrong. Which shows that you and I are worlds apart. So, I'll ask again…is that how you want to face me?"

He only gave Kurama a few seconds to think about it before lunging at him. Karasu brought his hand down to attack Kurama and the red-haired kitsune quickly threw himself back to avoid him. He skid on his hand and then landed on his feet a few yards away from where Karasu touched down. Mere seconds after he thought he was safe, Kurama called out in painful shock as an explosion burst from his upper-left arm and blood practically poured out of the wound. I covered my nose as the smell reached me and my stomach churned at the sight of his injury. The rest of our comrades called out to the kitsune and I wrinkled my nose. The wound was deeper than I thought it was and Kurama grimaced in pain.

"Looks like Kurama miscalculated, and received a serious hit! But how'd Karasu do it?" Koto shouted in absolute shock. I rolled my eyes and just shook my head. Why did she have to act like a complete and total moron? It really irked me that the cute, but not so intelligent women had to be the announcers of this thing. Meanwhile, Karasu seemed to be enjoying himself.

"See? I didn't have to touch you. Would you like a hint? Just as you control plants, I control something as well…Something I can also create. Would you like to see it? Oh, but you can't…not in your current form," Karasu said holding his hand out before him. Kurama just looked at him while he was lost in his own thoughts.

"I don't get it! Kurama's not changing! Was Suzuki pulling a fast one on us after all?" Kuwabara gasped, not understanding what was going on in front of him.

"No, he wasn't Kuwabara. Don't you remember what Kurama said? He had been practicing and even knew how long he could hold his form for. He even said it was slow to react. Have a little faith and just keep your thoughts with Kurama," I said looking at him seriously. He seemed caught off guard, but after thinking about it for a minute he nodded so fast that his hair bounced up and down wildly. I turned my attention back to the match and bit down on my thumb to keep my mouth shut. More than anything I wanted to tell them how everything would end up but I couldn't do that for two reasons. One, I had to keep the storyline from being tampered with and two, the look Toguro was giving me threatened to drop me where I stood if I opened my mouth at all. So, I remained absolutely quiet and just watched the scene unfold before me.

"But talk is cheap right? Would you like to see how you're going to die? Of course you would. Let me bring it into your range of visibility…" Karasu said flexing his hand out in front of him once again. This time I could see the aura forming something in his hand and seconds later the bomb came into sight. I was shocked at the grotesque appearance of the weird melded together sticks of dynamite and the skulls at the bottom of each. Ice ran through my veins instead of blood and I bit down harder on my thumb. This was way worse than watching it on television. At least then I could just turn it off or do something else to distract myself. This time I was stuck just watching it and there was nothing I could do. It dawned on Kurama what he was using and Karasu pounced, "That's right…a bomb!"

With that said, he threw the bomb down on Kurama and it exploded on contact. The entire ground where Kurama had been was covered in smoke and I barely managed to see the rose Kurama threw, shoot out of the smoke and go straight through his opponent's hand. Then there was the pulse. I stopped breathing for a moment and watched it ring out across the entire stadium. Most everyone else missed it, even Hiei seemed too distracted to notice, but soon it stopped on the outer edges of the stadium and went flying back to its point source of origin. The surge of aura came flying back to the exact place Kurama had been standing and as soon as it hit, I sensed the demon fox. Yoko's aura was impossible to mistake and I couldn't understand why Karasu couldn't immediately sense what happened directly in front of him. He merely stood where he landed and looked over his hand that was dripping blood from the rose that had been stabbed through it. His eyes narrowed on it and Karasu sighed, "Last act of defiance…"

"Nearly the last. Shuichi Minamino would've been vaporized…" Yoko's voice slid through the smoke. It was only a matter of seconds before we could see his shadowed form in the smoke and he stepped out before everyone. There was a profusely bleeding gash above his left eye and blood pouring out of the corner of his mouth. I winced in sympathetic pain and looked over his condition. Yoko was completely calm at the situation, but he had multiple gashes that decorated his body and blood seemed to splatter along the ground whether he moved or not. Yet there was still this satisfied little smirk that never seemed to leave his face and his gold eyes locked on Karasu as he said, "So you're a Demon Bomber, Master Class. Nice to meet someone at my level. Now…I'll kill you."

Calm, cool, and collected as ever, Karasu merely pulled the rose from his hand and called more of his explosives into existence as he said, "I'm not dying today."

"Damn…the pure power that Kurama is exerting is astounding. It's almost like I can feel it around me. That is one fighter that I would not want to get on his bad side. Meanwhile, Karasu just keeps calling more and more of those bombs to his aid in an attempt to completely surround Kurama…Jeeze, these two are in a league I could only dream about reaching," I muttered to myself thoughtfully. It was only after I said it that I realized my mistake. How could I mention my own weakness in front of Hiei? And of course he couldn't just let it be.

"Well at least you're intelligent enough to admit such a thing. Kurama has fought for many years to reach the level he is at. Even in your finest hour you would die of old age before reaching such a feat," Hiei stated flatly causing me to growl in aggravation.

"Damn it Hiei. Can't you ever just shut your mouth or is that too much strain for you to handle?" I snapped furiously as I turned my attention on him. His eyes widened a fraction of an inch as though he was surprised I had said such a thing, and before he could respond Yusuke and Kuwabara stepped in between the two of us.

"We don't need you two snipping at each other. We should be focusing on our attention on Kurama right now," Kuwabara said looking at me seriously. I rolled my eyes and passively returned my attention back to the ring.

"Kurama's transformed into the fox demon! Doesn't look like he weathered the blast unscathed, though!" Koto's voice rang through the entire stadium. Ugh, there were no words to describe how much of a headache her voice was in person. Yeah, it made me want to wring her neck in the anime, but actually experiencing it made me want to destroy the very essence that was her. Meanwhile, Yoko just continued to smile. Koto leaned into the microphone and continued to announce, "With Kurama back as the fox demon, this match has been blown wide open!"

"A Master of explosives is not something Shuichi Minamino could handle at this stage," he stated in a matter-of-fact tone. His eyes glanced over at us thoughtfully for a moment and I just smiled knowingly.

"Heh heh…is that how you'll explain losing? Because you're going to, even in that form! And here's how!" Karasu shouted as he called his next creation into existence. It disturbed me how creepy the damn things looked. The one eyeball took over almost its entire circular body and its bat-like wings stretched out as it flew toward Kurama. Multiple creatures identical to the first began spawning around the ring and Kurama leapt into action. Just as he jumped into the air, a few of the bombs exploded right where he had been standing seconds before and then Yoko took off running to lure Karasu even further into his trap. Karasu continued his charge as he spoke, "Tracer Eyes: sub-organisms spawned by my demonic aura. As you know, what a master envisions, he can create."

Yoko just continued to get his placement exactly where he wanted and I could sense his plant beginning to take form. I blinked and wondered why I had suddenly become so sensitive to sensing his aura, but then again his wasn't the only one. Standing around Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei as well, I could sense their own powers. They had each sky-rocketed and even though they were trying to keep them as well hidden as they could, I could almost sense it like a pulse from a heart-beat. Hiei's power on the other-hand was a little different. I glanced at his arm hidden underneath his cloak and the aura that surrounded it seemed to move like…well like the Dragon did when it was released. It didn't take much imagination how close the dragon was to breaking through the seals he had put in place. Noticing another aura spike, I turned my attention back to Yoko Kurama.

"Ever hear of the Humble Plant, by chance? It's a South American perennial that closes its leaves when touched by hand or fire," Yoko commented coolly as he slowly came to a stop. Karasu was not impressed.

"Horticulture's not my thing. Note that you're hemmed in. in fact, I'd say you're in a bit of a fix," Karasu stated as his creations completely surrounded Yoko. The fox demon merely stood there and all of us watching just held out breaths. Although I remembered what he was about to do and having enough sense to register this, I took a couple of steps away from the ring, just in case that plant of his decided to be extra sensitive to heat.

"Perhaps. Back to the Humble Plant," Yoko said focusing his aura. Seconds later, the ground beneath him seemed to explode and plants began shooting out from under him. The leaves looked like a deformed version of a palm tree and thorns pushed out of its stems. Strange stems flew out around it and at the ends of those were bloodthirsty mouths, looking for the next kill. All of us stared in shock and Karasu seemed genuinely shocked at what Kurama had called to his aid. The kitsune stood in the midst of it all with his arms crossed. His voice was chilling as he educated us all on what now rose before us, "The Demon Plane variety has a vicious temper. It'll attack anything that moves or emits excessive heat. That means you, woman. If you wish to live, stay still!"

My attention was drawn to Juri for the first time since the match started and I almost laughed at her current situation, thanking god above that it was her and not me. She was sprawled back on the ground in a very awkward position and was unable to move in anyway shape or form. The pure fear on her face caused me to cackle slightly and I muttered, "Too bad she takes directions extremely well. It would've been rather amusing to watch her skitter across the ring like the insect she actually is."

"That's a tad vicious, don't cha think, Rin?" Kuwabara asked with a sweatdrop.

"Not at all, Kuwabara. Here's my take on this. These people like to sit back and watch merciless bloodshed in this tournament. The announcers like Juri and Koto can't seem to keep their annoying mouths shut for more than ten minutes at a time and love to comment on how they wish there was more blood or violence. However, they will not stand in and be a part of the actions themselves. That being said, I don't see it as a great loss if something just went out of control and happened to them. Unfortunately, they're just intelligent enough to avoid this. It's almost aggravating," I answered with a devious smirk. Yusuke merely shook his head at me while Kuwabara stood there gaping like a fish that was dying to take in some water.

"I think you've been immersed in this violence too long, Rin. You're almost evil now," Yusuke chuckled causing me to roll my eyes and I then returned my attention back to the fight. Yoko's plant seemed to have honed in on Karasu's body.

"Well now, I'd say it's found an enemy," the kitsune mused as his plant jumped to life and advanced on Karasu viciously. The black-haired fighter tried to dodge it and think of some way to counteract its attacks. Before he got far though, the plants buried themselves in the ground directly in front of him and sent him flying back to avoid them. Yoko Kurama smiled and said, "There's no escape, I'm afraid."

Karasu was sent fleeing from the plants once more and no matter what he tried he was unable to get away. Koto instantly jumped on this moment of weakness and called out, "The tables have turned – dramatically! Karasu appears to be in a pretty pickle!"

Of course, the fighter wasn't ready to lay down and die just yet. The Master Bomber created a grenade in his hand and thrust it into one of the mouths of the plant that was bearing down on him. It exploded on contact and the blast sent him skidding across the ground. He was quite pleased with himself, until another part of the plant suddenly appeared right at his side. Karasu's eyes widened in shock and I saw his shoulders fall a fraction of an inch. Yoko Kurama looked at him smugly and pointed his finger to his forehead like a gun as he said, "Partial attacks won't do much, I'm afraid. Bang!"

The plant wrapped itself around Karasu's body and threw him up into the air. I watched his mask fly off his face and blood splattered out of his mouth. I watched the mask fall and land on the ground outside of the ring where it would be completely forgotten like it was never there. Soon the plants began piling on around him and Karasu was disappearing from sight. In a matter of seconds all that was left to see was his hand and that too was soon completely enveloped by the plant. I could smell blood in the air and the plants made disturbing sounds as it wrapped tighter around Karasu's body.

"Hmm…All wrapped up. I thought he'd have more fight in him," Yoko sniffed contemptuously. I silently gasped and for once, I could almost sense a fangirl for Kurama and the way he acted and fought. Then I thought about Hiei and it went away. Eh, I never was much one for change. It was then I could sense Hiei trying to come into my mind and I quickly changed my thoughts and blocked him out. Nosey little bastard wasn't he?

"Amazing! Looks like this match goes to Kurama!As the fox demon, he's proved over-whelming!" Koto shouted, completely beside herself. I glanced over at the female fox for a moment and could see that her ears were twitching. Ugh. She was fangirling over Kurama…even though it was entirely in her own mind.

"With Karasu out of commission that match goes to-" Juri extended her hand out to our favorite kitsune looked over the stadium like they didn't mean a thing to him. Before she managed to finish what she was saying though, an explosion ripped through the air from directly behind her. Everyone in the stadium turned their attention to the explosion and we saw Karasu landing on the ground like nothing happened at all. Silence fell and the fighter looked over his opponent calmly.

"Who's out of commission?" Karasu asked as I got a look at his face for the first time. Without the disturbing mask, he almost looked normal; almost except his eyes. They were too evil, too demonic to match the way he looked. His face was that of a normal guy, with average features and extremely long hair, but his eyes looked like someone who had come from the depths of hell. I shuddered slightly and just shook my head. Thank god Kurama would rid the world of him by the end of the match.

"No one, Karasu! Certainly not you! Let the match resume!" Juri said with her best smile and poked her cheek lightly. She stepped back and allowed the fighters to have as much space as they would possibly need for what was going to come.

"I've taken quite a liking to you, Kurama. I'll see you dead for sure!" Karasu said smiling a small smile at Kurama.

"His mask came off," Elder Toguro noticed in monotone.

"Not good," Toguro said calmly before turning his attention to their fifth member. Sakyo regarded him with interest and Toguro said, "Get behind me Mr. Sakyo…quickly."

"Get ready for a big explosion guys. Things are getting serious now," I said planting my feet where I stood. My mind went into overdrive as I thought of a way to avoid the upcoming explosion without wasting a lot of energy. I quickly decided that standing where I was and calling a shield to protect me would be the best option I had.

"You mean it wasn't serious already?" Kuwabara stammered in concern.

"Let's just say, Kurama pissed off Karasu and now he's pulling out everything in his arsenal and officially doesn't give a damn about anyone outside of the ring. Which now makes it extremely dangerous for not only Kurama, but all of us as well," I answered crouching on the ground and hoping my plan would work out. Karasu began powering up and I watched in fascination as his hair turned from pitch black to a very golden blonde. Not only that, but his aura began spilling out around him and I could sense his power overwhelming the entire stadium. This was going to be one hell of an explosion.

"Karasu's hair has changed color. Even from here I can see his aura building in strength!" Koto called into the microphone as the audience began to get riled up at the turn of events. Meanwhile, Hiei quickly caught onto what I had been saying earlier.

"He's drawing flammable elements in to fuel a whole-body explosion. His hands are the fuses I bet. Rin was right. Brace for a major shockwave," Hiei stated as he too prepared to jump out of the upcoming blast. Kuwabara now had two warnings about what was going to happened. Now I wondered if he would make it out with the huge bump on his head that I saw in the manga. Karasu held his hands out in front of him and his power began coursing directly in front of him. It then grew into sparking ball of nothing but pure explosive power.

"Ha ha ha! DIE!" Karasu shouted as he suddenly leapt into the air and thrust his attack down on Kurama who was quite surprised at his recent surge of power.

"Looks like a big one guys. Better get further back," Toguro advised and before anything else could happen, the attack slammed into the ground where Kurama stood. The explosion was so destructive that it quickly took out an entire wall of the stadium. None in that particular section of the audience were spared and blood filled the air as well as flying rubble. I instantly called my shield to my aid and the pieces of ruble that would've hit me, disintegrated out of existence. Karasu laughed at the destruction unfolding before him and I managed to catch sight of Toguro protecting Sakyo from harm. Meanwhile my comrades were scrambling to get out of the way. Hiei jumped to safety and Yusuke as well as Koenma moved out of the way. Not to my surprise, Kuwabara was sent flying through the air, most ungracefully. I rolled my eyes and focused on keeping up the shield that protected me. Things began to cool down and I slowly allowed my barrier to drop as I stood and looked to my comrades.

"Everybody ok?" Yusuke called out, looking over each of us carefully to make sure no one had been seriously injured. I moved to stand beside Koenma and nodded when Yusuke looked at me.

Kuwabara slowly sat up and rubbed his head gingerly saying, "Seems so…but where's Kurama?"

We all looked back to the ring and just as the smoke was beginning to disappear we saw him. Yusuke and Kuwabara found themselves unable to comprehend what they were seeing and I sensed Hiei tense as he moved to stand beside us. I was the only one on our side that was not surprised to see Shuichi Minamino on the ground before us instead of the fox demon, Yoko Kurama. I just felt bad though that he looked like he had the holy hell beaten out of him. The crowd erupted with astonishment and Koto quickly came over the speakers, "Kurama's been knocked out of his fox demon form! And he looks quite a bit worse for wear!"

"He's changed back! The potion must've worn off!" Yusuke exclaimed.

"But it's only been five or six minutes! The potion was supposed to last fifteen!" Kuwabara protested and once again, I bit down on my thumb to keep myself from saying anything that would cause them to know more than they should. Kurama was lost in his thoughts as he tried to piece together what happened, but Karasu stepped forward and interrupted him.

"Sorry to intrude on your thoughts but you might want to say your prayers. May you know a minimum of pain…" he said as he looked at Kurama with a small satisfied smile. Being as defiant as ever, Kurama extended his hand and attempted to call forth a plant to aid him, and was shocked to find that he was unable to do it. He looked at his hand and Karasu chuckled, "Your demonic aura is too weak to enable you to form plant weapons. I daresay you probably can't even perceive my aura at this point."

Realizing that he couldn't allow Karasu to have the upper hand for too long, Kurama rushed him and I could see in his eyes that he was already thinking of a new strategy. I admired Kurama for his ability to think on his feet and bounce back faster than any fighter I had ever seen before. I always wished I could be like that, but knew that I had far too short of a temper. Patience was no virtue of mine and it was foolish to hope for anything out of my nature. So I was content with how I was, so long as I continued to get strong enough to keep up with Morte in battle.

Kurama stopped a few feet away from his enemy and fell back on his martial arts. His first attack was a swift kick that would've caused some decent damage if Karasu hadn't leapt into the air. Kurama did not let up and continued to attack him. The kitsune moved in such fluid motions that I was completely captured with watching his movements. Kurama was so graceful and precise with his attacks that I could almost fangirl over his discipline and focus in battle, but then again, I knew every move that he was making at that moment was only to further him to his ultimate goal of landing a hit over Karasu's heart.

"First time we've ever seen Kurama fall back on martial arts! Karasu just counters with tight efficient moves!" Koto once again had to make another comment. I was beginning to wonder if I was paid a dime every time she spoke in the tournament if I would be one rich demoness by the end of it all.

"Kurama's up to something," Hiei stated and I glanced over to see a small bead of sweat slipping down the side of his face as he watched his friend fight what seemed to be a losing battle. As time wore on, it was beginning to get easier to see when Hiei was concerned for the people around him and they were extremely small signs. It was somewhat comforting to see him react in such a way. At least he wasn't as cold and heartless as he seemed. I was staring at him so intently that Hiei looked at me and I was quick to look back at Kurama like nothing happened at all.

"Is pain fogging your brain? Closing in on me is suicide!" Karasu stated as he raised his hand to take Kurama down. Kurama however had different plans and maneuvered down to surprise his opponent once more.

"As I can't see your aura, proximity hardly matters," Kurama stated flatly as he suddenly thrust his hands into the middle of his opponent's chest. The hit was solid and Karasu was sent flying back. The kitsune seemed satisfied with this, but his face was completely unfathomable. It was his eyes that gave him away, but then again, none of the people really focused on Kurama's eyes. Which was probably a good thing.

Karasu skid to a stop and brought his hand up to his chest where his new injury was, "A good, well-placed strike. However…" he plucked the seed that Kurama had placed on him out of the wound, "was this your real purpose? To place a Deadly Vetch on me? I'm surprised you'd try that again. Still, you have managed two damaging hits on me. Congratulations."

Kurama moved his foot back and suddenly something shot out of the ground and wrapped itself around his ankle. I tensed and growled, "Damn that sneaky bastard."

The stem of the thing became an eyeball and then turned into a mouth with jagged teeth that said, "Gotcha."

"That's my Muddy Bomb," Karasu sniffed at Kurama contemptuously. Seconds later is exploded and the red-haired fighter was slammed to the ground once again. I winced and couldn't believe how much blood Kurama had already lost. Not to mention that he was about to lose a lot more than just that. Damn it. I hated Karasu with an absolute passion. Kurama tried to get to his feet and Yusuke stepped forward.

"Freeze, Kurama! He's got you penned in!" Yusuke shouted and all of the aura bombs floating around our favorite kitsune came into clearer focus.

"Does it matter? You can barely stand. You're out of options, I'd say. There's no summoning Demon Plane flora or turning ordinary plants into weapons. I, on the other hand, could blow you to bits," Karasu flicked his hand and some of the bombs exploded, injuring Kurama even further. Blood splattered across the ground and Kurama hollered in pain. I bit down so hard on my thumb that I drew blood and it was almost more than I could bear to watch Kurama be tortured in such a way. How much pain could one person go through before it finally took its toll? Unfortunately, we were in the exact right place to find out. Kurama slowly pushed him up to stare at the injury on Karasu's chest and meanwhile, blood was pouring from his own. Karasu looked at him with ice in his stare and said, "But I won't. I wish to keep you with me. Well, your head at least. I'll dismember you bit-by-bit."

More bombs exploded over Kurama's body and he hit the ground with a sickening thud. By this time, the ring underneath him was stained red with his blood and Kurama's outfit horrible with all the tears and bloody shreds. I cupped my hands over my mouth and shouted, "Hang on, Kurama! It's not over yet!"

"In who's opinion, little girl? Perhaps I should pay you a visit when all of this is over. Maybe then you'll realize when it is truly over," Karasu mused suddenly turning his attention on me. I blinked in terror and took a step back away from the ring. The very thought of Karasu standing before me to kill me froze my insides and made my heart pound against my chest. Why did he look at me? What did I do but call out reassurance to my comrade? It was then that Hiei stepped directly in front of me and fixed Karasu with such a look that it made even me even tremble. There was a brief staring match before Karasu returned his attention back to Kurama. It was then that the audience broke into thunderous roars and it was almost impossible to hear anything. I noticed Juri beginning to count and anticipating the fact that no one would hear her, she was using her fingers to help with the count. For once though, no one was paying any attention to her. I faintly hear Karasu say, "I scarcely think that's necessary. For him it's simply life…or DEATH!"

Karasu moved to finish him off and Kurama quickly put into action his final attack. The kitsune called every last bit of energy to him and summoned the Vampire Plant. It immediately shot forth and stabbed into Karasu's chest, officially ending the fight. Having exhausted all of his demonic aura, Kurama fell face first onto the ring floor and lied there completely motionless. Yusuke called out to him and I watched Karasu fall back onto the ground, dead as a doornail. All of us focused on Kurama and every second that passed that he didn't move, I felt like getting sick. Come on Kurama…get up like you're supposed to! Suddenly, I noticed his hand twitch and I punched the air shouting, "Hell yeah!"

Kurama's eyes slowly opened and once he was sure that he was alive, he slowly got to his feet. Blood was still pouring from his wounds and he was a little shaky on his feet as he looked around in astonishment. It was clear that he was surprised to be alive and I sighed in relief. Not only did he survive the match, but now he was beginning to realize that his fox demon powers were returning to his human body. The excitement burst from our group and Koto started shouting into the microphone, "Kurama's won! A mind-blowing comeback!"

I smiled as Kuwabara jumped straight in the air shouting, "Kurama won! Way to go Kurama! Yer the comeback kid! One down, two to go!"

"Thank god. It all turned out the way it was supposed to. I was almost worried there for half a second," I muttered to myself as Yusuke dashed up onto the ring and over to Kurama. I sighed in relief and ran my hand through my hair.

"Lemme help ya, Kurama!" Yusuke said protectively and took one of Kurama's arms around his shoulder. Kurama accepted the help graciously and then looked at him seriously.

"Thanks. Sorry about the match," Kurama apologized and made Yusuke look at him curiously. Of course Kurama, Hiei and I were the only ones who knew what twisted turn of events was going to happen next and I merely shook my head. So we waited as Juri stood in the middle of the ring and made her announcement.

"And the winner of this match: KARASU!"

_-Until Next Time-_

_**ME:**_** Now that this chapter is up, I can say one of my favorite sayings-**

_**Jin:**_** (comes out of nowhere) "Yeah well, you lost to Kurama and Kurama lost to a dead guy. How's that for being lame?"**

_**ME:**_** DAMN IT JIN! FANGIRL WAVE! (opens the doors and points at him in anger)**

_**Jin:**_** Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! (runs like a bat out of hell as a enormous wave of fangirls run after him.)**

_**ME:**_** (turning to Ghost and Hiei) Anyone else want to steal my thunder? Cuz I have plenty of fangirls waiting in the wings for a chance to glomp both of you… (they remain absolutely silent and I sniff at them in content) Yeah that's what I thought. Anyway, there's another chapter and I hope to have the next one out soon. I hope you enjoyed it. Drop a review and see you next time!**

**And a last minute thought to all my readers. Please be safe and don't be afraid to take your time when you go out. Some crazy things happen in this world and innocent people get hurt. Thank you and I'll see you next chapter!**


	32. Bringing The House Down

_**ME:**_** (headphones blasting in ears as I furiously type on the computer)**

_**Hiei:**_** For once she's silent and dedicated to writing her fanfiction…the apocalypse must be around the corner.**

_**Ghost:**_** It is indeed rather…odd…I'm not quite sure what to do.**

_**ME:**_** (absolutely silent.)**

_**Hiei:**_** She only owns her characters. Chapter start…**

_**ME:**_** (muttering under my breath) Now how to pull that together without it seeming…odd… (Ghost attempts to look over my shoulder and I spin around in my swivel chair pinching his nose between my pointer and middle finger.) No peaking! You'll let the readers know! (after a moment, I push him back and watch him falling over his feet. I cackle and then return my attention back to my computer screen.)**

_**Ghost:**_** (slowly stands and leaves the room with Hiei in quick pursuit.)**

**-Chapter Start-**

_**Chapter 32: Bringing The House Down**_

"And the winner of this match: KARASU!"

Surprise shook the stadium and everyone turned their eyes to the jumbo screen, to make sure their ears weren't deceiving them. Sure enough, the blank screen hummed as it jumped to life and mere seconds later, revealed Kurama and Karasu's names. Another rumble and it revealed an "X" beneath Kurama's name and an "O" under Karasu's name. It was official. Kurama had lost to a dead man. Ironic no? The rest of my team however, did not seem to share my own sense of humor about this.

"What the ding-dong? Kurama nailed Karasu's butt good!" Kuwabara protested in frustration. Yusuke's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets and Kurama simply took the defeat with grace. Meanwhile, Hiei turned to look at me.

"Thank you for standing between me and Karasu…I didn't know how to handle the situation," I said with a grateful smile. Hiei merely "hn-ed" in response and I felt reassured. Hiei didn't break eye-contact with me for once and I could see something behind his eyes. It was something that I had never seen there before and the fact that Hiei wouldn't break eye-contact with me revealed that he was actively thinking about it…and it possibly involved me. I tilted my head to the side and asked, "Um…Hiei, are you alright?"

"Your thoughts seem to be pulling back to something you found in your room this morning…and you keep looking at me…what is it?" Hiei asked flatly causing me to sweatdrop. Good lord…why did he have to be a mind reader.

"It's nothing at all. I thought I had lost my locket after the fight with Morte and I found it…" I lied through my teeth and prayed that something would distract him. Karma smiled on me at that moment and Juri held the microphone up to her mouth to speak.

"Kurama took the full count! He struck back while still technically down! And was not back up until after I counted to ten. I do my job, y'know," Juri announced to the entire stadium as she gestured to us like it was common knowledge and we were all fools not to know what she was talking about. I rolled my eyes but instead of being annoyed, just thanked the holy powers above that she had completely distracted Hiei from questioning

"Ten counts…? I couldn't even hear…" Yusuke blanched in surprise.

"Hardly anyone could," Kurama said as they hobbled to the side of the ring. I moved forward to help them down and the kitsune glanced at me with a small smirk, "Next time, you don't have to yell at me quite so demandingly. For a moment, I nearly expected you to be standing over me threatening me to get up or else."

I stood there and just blinked at him. Was Kurama making fun of me? Holy hell! I couldn't believe it at all. Yusuke and Kuwabara got a kick out of it and Kurama merely smiled at me. I, on the other hand, was officially speechless. Perhaps they were all warming up to me…maybe a bit too much. Oh dear...there were going to be some very interesting times up ahead for me. I looked over at Hiei and although he wouldn't look at me, I could see the smallest hint of a smirk on his face. I smiled as well and said, "Keep it up Kurama. At least we know you're alive that way. Since you seem to have this affiliation with putting your life on the line."

"Touché," Kurama replied as Koto watched the instantly replay. Her eyes widened slightly and she reached out to grab the microphone.

"We didn't hear Juri's count over all the wild cheering! Instant replay confirms Kurama was not up before the count was complete!" Koto said and the entire stadium erupted into thunderous cheering once again. For a minute or so they were saying so many things that none of them made sense, but suddenly, the seemed to reach the same wavelength. At that time they started chanting, "Getcha in two! Getcha in two! Getcha in two!"

"Shut up! We may've lost the match, but we won the fight!" Kuwabara shouted in aggravation and when the rest of the audience turned on him I stood at his side flipping those worthless demons off. Using as few words as I could, I basically told them to go screw themselves and patted Kuwabara on the back, just shaking my head. This didn't stop Kuwabara however and he continued, "He who lives longest, laughs last!"

"I wouldn't count on that," a very slick voice hissed over the uproar. Miraculously, every demon in the place went silent and every drop of focus was poured onto him. My ears were still ringing from the prior noise and the silence that surrounded us was almost deafening. I rubbed them tenderly and looked over at Elder Toguro as he spoke to us from his usual perch on Toguro's shoulder, "Don't forget, each winning team member gets his heart's desire. You know what I desire? To see you _dead_…every one of you."

"So says the man smaller than Hiei and always is perched on a giant's shoulder to compensate for the fact that he's smaller than anyone else, women included," I stated flatly as I shrugged my shoulders with a small shake of my head. I continued to smirk deviously as I continued in a much quieter tone, "Who knows what else he may need to be compensating for aside from his height."

Kuwabara and Yusuke busted into laughter and even Kurama seemed to get a smile out of it. The only one who was not amused, aside from the person I was attacking, was Hiei and I almost think he might have taken some offense to what I had said. I looked at him and he just stared at me like I was an annoying bug that needed to be squashed. Yep…he sure took offense to that. I sighed and just crossed my arms wondering if it would be better if I didn't talk for the rest of the tournament. Meanwhile, Hiei focused his attention on the other team and said, "My heart's desire is to never attend another of these asinine tournaments. I wish its backers would all drop dead."

Sakyo smiled and I looked at Hiei saying, _"That wish has almost been granted. The last one stands right in front of you…"_

"_Oh?"_ Hiei asked arching his eyebrow at me curiously.

"_Sakyo told them something and they didn't like it. They revolted and well…let's just say Toguro quickly protected his fifth teammate…But that's between you and me," _I explained looking over at Sakyo who just looked over us with some amusement. The swordsman nodded and then turned his attention away from me. The crowd was roaring around us and Hiei stepped forward to look at Yusuke to get his attention.

"Yusuke…I wanted to fight "shades" Toguro…but I'll yield to you for Genkai's sake. I'll make do with 'Mr. Axe'," Hiei said looking over his comrade almost…comforting? It was rather astounding to watch how much he had changed since I had first met him. Back then, he wanted to rip me apart just for the fact that I knew his biggest secret. Back then, he hated everything that had to deal with humans. Back then, Hiei was only out for himself. Now, he actually…liked me; maybe a little bit more than I dared to truly believe. Now, he tolerated humans and things to deal with them enough to work beside them. Now, Hiei actually seemed to be concerned with those around him that he called teammates. His eyes still held their usual sharpness, but there was a different emotion as well. It wasn't kindness…but it was a far distant cousin of it…I smiled somewhat looking at him and couldn't help but think back on the forest…and the kiss…

"_Hm…that was a very interesting memory. I never would have thought Hiei to do such a thing,"_ Kurama's voice echoed through my head and I froze on the spot. I whipped my head to look at him and there was a mischievous glint shining bright in his fierce green eyes. My jaw dropped and my face flashed bright red.

"_KURAMA!"_ I practically screamed in horror. I covered my mouth and felt the sudden urge to run as far away as I possibly could. Instead, I chomped down on my knuckle and just stared at the kitsune, _"Oh god, please don't say anything about it to Hiei or anyone else. Please! I'll do anything!"_

"_You needn't worry…I already promised Hiei the same thing. Although his was far more threatening than yours," _Kurama answered with a subtle wag of his finger. My hands fell to my side and my jaw nearly popped when it practically hit the ground. My mind was whirling ten miles a minute and the only way I came crashing down to Earth was hearing Bui's weapon clink as he held it in his hand. My wide eyes turned themselves to the ring and I watched Hiei stepped into the ring directly across from Bui.

"Think I'm height challenged, eh?" Hiei asked as he grabbed his cloak and pulled it off, obeying the wish of every crazed fangirl that wished they were in my shoes watching him. I sighed at the sight of his muscles. Damn…he looked good…Uh…anyway, fangirlness aside, I quickly focused my attention on his arm. There were new bandages around his arm and on top of that they seemed to have very strange inscriptions along them. Not to mention the chain that wrapped around those and hung down to keep them all wrapped up. I tilted my head to the side and sensed the aura seeping through. It never ceased to amaze me how he was so thorough when it came to fighting, but when it came to things like this…he rushed through some of the most important steps.

"Yow! He's got bandages on bandages now! Hasn't that arm healed yet?" Kuwabara stammered causing me to shake my head.

"It's not because it's not healed yet, Kuwabara. It's way more dangerous than just that," I muttered taking a few steps back away from the ring. The last thing I wanted was to get smacked in the head with ruble from this upcoming fight. It dawned on Kurama what the bandages were and his eyes widened.

"Huh! They're Curse Bindings! He skipped some basic steps though," the kitsune gasped as he stared at the swordsman. Of course Hiei would skip a few basic steps, after all what was it to him if the power wasn't correctly contained? He was just going to end up releasing it anyway. I could see Kurama's thoughts spinning in his mind and I shrugged. Kuwabara on the other hand looked at both of us and asked what was going on. However we both were too engrossed on what happened next.

"Begin!" Juri called. Bui dashed forward and it was like hearing a giant thunder across the ground. It was a shock to see someone so tall and fully covered in armor to move as swiftly he did, but I was even further shocked that he moved almost quietly. His armor didn't make a sound and I faintly heard his feet touch the ground. It was obvious that this round of the tournament showed a new level of power for all of the fighters. Bui moved forward and in an attempt for a quick win, thrust his weapon down on Hiei faster than I expected someone his size to move. Koto was likewise shocked and announced what was obvious to all of us about Bui making the first move. Of course, Hiei moved much faster and was behind him by the time his axe buried itself in the ring. This did not seem to surprise anyone and the black-haired swordsman looked over the large fighter.

"Don't play around. I'd like a real fight, okay?" Hiei said looking almost bored. Bui's face was hidden away beneath his helmet, but I saw him tilt his head slightly before tightening his grip around the hilt of his axe. A few seconds and muscle tenses later, he pulled the weapon out of the ground and took a nice chunk out of the arena floor. All of this was done with his right hand and only his right hand. I whistled at his strength and Kuwabara nearly wet himself.

"Holy…what strength!" Kuwabara stammered while Yusuke and Kurama watched intently. I crossed my arms and took a deep breath. I hoped Hiei's aura when he released the dragon wouldn't be too much for me to handle. I had been able to ignore Morte's Jagan when we were fighting, but she didn't seem nearly as efficient with it as he was. Perhaps she didn't have hers as long as he or perhaps, she was just nothing compared to anyone in the group. I was shaken from my thoughts though when Bui swung his weapon like a bat and sent the chunk of the floor soaring through air. The wind rushed past us and I placed my hand on the side of my head to keep my hair from stabbing my eyes. It smashed into the ground directly in front of Hiei and he raised his hands to guard his eyes.

"That old gambit…!" he growled as he searched the ring for Bui who had just disappeared. Not even two seconds later, the mass of muscles appeared directly before him and his weapon was raised, ready to strike. I heard Yusuke flip out beside me, but I watched in interest as Hiei merely snorted in contempt. As Bui slammed his axe down on Hiei's head, our favorite Jagan user merely raised his hand and caught the axe like it was nothing. Instantly, his aura flashed before us and the axe melted in his hands like a snowman in the middle of summer. Astonishment shook the stadium and the heat of Hiei's aura quickly reached Bui's hands. He dropped what was left of his precious weapon and looked at Hiei, not quite sure how to handle this new development. Hiei's gaze was fierce and his tongue was sharp as he snapped, "Like I said…Don't play around! Did you think an aura-less scrap of iron would bother me? I'm giving serious thought to being insulted."

Hiei's aura hissed and steamed around the ring. Bui simply took in his opponent for a moment and I could sense his anticipation. He saw that Hiei would actually pose a challenge, and was debating if he should remove his armor. Hiei on the other hand, stared at him with a look that bordered on the lines of being bored.

"H-He melted that huge axe like it was a chocolate bar!" Kuwabara gaped at the sheer amount of power Hiei had shown us all. I glanced over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hold on to your coat, Kuwabara. These two still have plenty of tricks up their sleeves and I guarantee you, they'll blow your mind," I said causing him to stare at me. I could see the question in his eyes, but true to his goo nature, Kuwabara closed his mouth and bit it back. I smiled in appreciation and then looked back at the ring as a new voice began to speak.

"You have me convinced that this armor won't do me any good at all," Bui stated as he began fiddling with the one of the shoulder guards. His deep voice echoed around the stadium for a moment and we all watched with interest at what he was going to do next. Every match in the finals brought something new and once again, I was relieved that I hadn't fought in front of the audience. It would've been too much for me to handle. Shortly after, he tossed it over his shoulder and when the armor slammed into the ground it left a dent in the ground. I whistled and meanwhile, Kuwabara broke out into a full fledge sweat.

"Yow! That guy was wearing enough armor for a tank!" Kuwabara exclaimed. I nodded in response and remained quiet as he began getting rid of the rest of his armor. Hiei was patient as Bui stripped the armor off his muscled body and just as he reached up to his helmet he decided to explain what he was doing.

"Armor normally protects the body from attack. But in my case it serves as a restraint," Bui pulled off the helmet and revealed what he truly looked like. His electric blue hair was somewhat wild and the scar in the middle of his forehead looked darker than it did in the anime. His eyes shocked me. There was a kind of deepness in them that I hadn't noticed before. He wasn't one for cruelty as Karasu had been. Instead, his soul searched for a worthy opponent and I could see that when he had been defeated by Toguro that he wanted nothing more than to be stronger than him. I cocked my head to the side and wondered what he thought of our band of misfits, making it as far as we had against all odds. Bui started releasing his power and held his fist out in front of him as he said, "You see, my powers aren't easy to contain."

His power erupted from his body and it became so powerful that he actually could levitate in the air. The sheer force of his aura caused me to step back and my chest slightly tightened. Damn it. Why did these demons have to be so powerful? If this was too much for me to handle, I worried how I would handle myself when Toguro became so powerful that he started absorbing the souls of the weaker demons in the audience. The stadium went into an uproar and Kurama grit his teeth, "A battle aura! That's what really protects him! Biggest I've seen…even allows him to levitate."

"Hope you meant what you said," Bui said fixing Hiei with an expectant small smile. His eyes were alight with the new challenge before him and he continued, "I, too, want a memorable match."

"Oh, it will be," Hiei replied as he brought up both of his arms and began unwrapping the Curse Bindings on his arms. With each layer of bandages that was pulled away from his arm, his power slammed into my chest and made it difficult for me to breathe. For half a second, my vision blurred, but I was determined to watch this fight and pushed the feeling aside. If it got to be too much for me, it meant that when I got back to my apartment I would just have to pick up a far more intense training regiment and work on sealing my energy away again. Hiei's aura was quickly becoming stronger and Kuwabara looked to Kurama for answers.

"He's removing those bandages! What are Curse Bindings, anyway?" Kuwabara inquired as he paled upon seeing Kurama's sweating face.

"Just like Bui's armor they're talismans to restrain his power because once set loose, such power is unstoppable. This stadium will be torn apart!" Kurama replied as he too paled, but I wasn't sure if it was from anxiety over the situation or blood loss. I turned to them and smiled while giving them a thumbs up.

"Don't worry about it guys. Just watch for falling objects and everything should be alright. Wouldn't want any unnecessary head injuries would we?" I grinned sticking my tongue out at the guys. Kurama sweatdropped slightly and Yusuke furrowed his brow at me.

"You should not be as excited about this as you are, Rin…just so you know," Yusuke stated flatly. I continued to smile like a Cheshire Cat and just remained quiet. After all this was one of my favorite fights because not only did Hiei make a majority of the fighters in the tournament look like chumps, but it was funny because of how it would end after he left the ring. Oh I could not wait to see that!

Finally Hiei unwrapped his arm completely and Bui suddenly sensed the sheer amount of power that was radiating from his opponent's small frame. Hiei held him unwrapped arm just before his body and reached up to uncover his third eye. His power slammed into my chest like a tank and I was knocked clean off my feet. I landed flat on my ass with my eyes wide in shock and I coughed, unable to breathe for a moment. Seconds later, Koenma knelt beside me. He looked at me carefully and asked, "Do you need me to put up a barrier against his aura?"

"N-No…I can handle it…Just wasn't expecting it to be that…potent…damn," I gasped as I tried to right my breathing. I gave him a thumbs up and Koenma slowly helped me to my feet. It was official…I needed to figure out how to completely block out the effects of a Jagan and do so quickly because at the rate I was going, Morte would murder me; it was just a matter of time. I took another calming breath and was able to stand on my own in time for the match to continue.

"I don't remember how these go back on, so there's no going back now," Hiei said with a small smile at his enemy. Seconds later his power exploded around us and I watched as black flamed aura began to run rampant across the ring. The surge was enough to cause concern among the spectators and I smiled at the fact that Hiei would soon show them what the meaning of terror, at least until Toguro would step into the ring. The swordsman allowed his power to surge around him as he said, "Watch how I've mastered the Black Dragon!"

"Hiei's unveiled one heck of an aura!" Koto yelled into the microphone as I watched the audience begin to shift in anxiousness. It wasn't the power of the two fighters that caused the discomfort that swept through the spectators. It was the disregard for their safety with two tremendously power opponents that made them uneasy. It would've done the same for me too except that I was strong enough stay conscious even with their powers thickening the air. There was not a doubt in my mind that I could withstand their power. Meanwhile the rest of my teammates were slowly beginning to freak out.

"Th-The Black Dragon…?" Kurama stammered in a tone that didn't match him at all. He looked at me with wide eyes and I winked at him reassuringly. Then we all watched as Hiei pounced on his intended prey.

"C'mon!" Hiei called as he dashed toward Bui with his attack at the ready. The stadium around us darkened with their powers and the lights flashed, threatening to douse us in darkness. I instantly tensed. I didn't remember that happening in the anime or the manga. Still levitating in the air, Bui stood his ground and quickly thought of his combat options. The mass of muscles was well aware of the threat he was now faced with and his choices were limited at what he could do. On the other hand, Bui was strong enough that he could face it without fear shining through his eyes. If I had been sitting, I would've been on the edge of my seat as Hiei released the dragon and roared, "Black Dragon Unholy Fire!"

The dragon finally sprang forth and took form. It was astounding to see the head of such a beast with its ferocious teeth and is spiraling black flamed body. This fearsome source of power fixed its sight on the only prey who stood before it, Bui. True to his fighting hear, he stood against the Dragon and prepared himself for the strain he was about to endure. I watched with wide eyes as he reached his hands up and just as the Dragon was about to destroy him, he caught it with his hands. I swear that my heart stopped at that moment as Bui's power clashed with Hiei's and for a fraction of a second everything seemed to freeze. The ring shattered underneath his feet and the Dragon began thrashing around the stadium, taking Bui along for the ride. Strong as ever, Bui kept himself from being devoured by the attack, but the Dragon's body slammed into various parts of the audience as well as the roof of the stadium. Rubble began falling from the ceiling and I noticed something else that terrified me…one huge piece was falling right toward us. I know for a fact, THAT didn't happen in the original story! I looked at the group and shouted, "Get the hell out of dodge!"

My warning came just in time as Yusuke jumped away with Kurama and Koenma dodged to the side as well. Kuwabara on the other hand was still too focused on the Dragon to hear what I had said. I growled in annoyance and lunged to knock him clean off his feet. This effectively knocked Kuwabara out of his daze, but just as he was knocked out of the way, a piece of rubble smacked me in the forehead and stunned me for a moment. Realizing that I was temporarily out of commission, Kuwabara wrapped his arms around me and safely rolled us out of the way. Then he sprung up like a jack-in-the-box and held up his hands up like he wasn't touching me. Meanwhile, I fully regained my senses and got to my feet to put my hand on the new bleeding gash I had. You know, if I continued to take as many injuries to the head as I was, I was going to end up getting knocked back a grade when I finally got home. I shook my head wolfishly and said, "Nice teamwork there Kuwabara. Thanks for the much needed save. How is everyone else?"

"Your warning came just in time, Rin. We were able to get to safety. Many others however, were not so lucky," Koenma said as we all looked about the stadium. The Dragon was still tossing Bui around as though he was a mere ragdoll and we could see huge chunks taken out of the audience where the beast's body had touched down. Concern ran through my mind and I instantly looked where our non-fighters were watching the match. Thankfully, they remained unharmed just as they should be. Perhaps, it was just an accident that the rubble had come down right where we had been standing…I hoped. We gathered in a group once more and returned our attention to the fight.

"Th-The Black Dragon's loose and running amok! Weaker spectators are being incinerated!" Koto called into the microphone as the creature threw Bui straight through the roof of the stadium. My eyes widened at the sheer amount of power Bui exerted to keep Hiei's attack at bay and I was grateful he was the strong silent type. Finally, he managed to gain the momentum he was looking for and redirected the Dragon to fly down toward Hiei. The Jagan-user froze in shock and stared into the open mouth of his own attack. The beast snatched Hiei up in its mouth and then flew into the air to disappear. I stepped back as another, much smaller piece of rubble crashed into the ground at my feet and I noticed that the ring had been officially destroyed. It looked like someone had just stepped on it and broke it into pieces. Bui landed on one of the pieces of the ring and triumphantly looked around.

"Ha haah! That's the match! I've defeated the Blazing Fist!" Bui shouted proudly as he held his hands out before him. The audience members that weren't killed from the Dragon began to holler and I turned my attention to my friends. Yusuke was shell-shocked and his eyes went completely blank. Kuwabara began sweating profusely.

"He…he beat Hiei…" Kuwabara stammered in fear. Kurama looked over to me and I just looked back to the ring expectantly. There was a tense moment where it actually seemed as though Hiei was gone for good, but right on schedule black flames materialized a few feet behind where Bui was standing. I punched the air and grinned. It was time for Hiei to kick some ass!

"Why's everybody all excited?" Hiei's voice rang through the arena and silence instantly fell. Bui's eyes flashed in fear and the flames took the shape of Hiei's body. Instantly I could see his eyes staring over us all, carefully taking in the damage that the Dragon had caused. He met my eyes and his eyes narrowed on the gash on my forehead. I merely smiled and shrugged my shoulders. It was my way of saying "these-things-happen-all-the-time." Hiei rolled his eyes and fully materialized in the air as he continued saying, "I haven't even gotten to the good part!"

Everyone was astonished to see Hiei appear out of thin air and land on the ring as though nothing had happened at all. The only difference was that the mark on his arm where the Dragon was had disappeared. Relief took over Yusuke's face and he excitedly called out to his friend, as though to make sure that he was really standing there, "Hiei!"

Bui on the other hand wasn't as happy as the rest of us were, "What? How?"

Hiei merely stood there with an unfathomable expression on his face. I smiled as the demons all around tried to figure out what was going on and yelled at Bui to finish the fight. Meanwhile, it began to dawn on Yusuke what kind of power Hiei now possessed, "So that's what he meant…"

"Yes…He consumed the Black Dragon!" Kurama confirmed as they both glanced at me, knowing I saw this coming. I shrugged with a smile and just looked back at Hiei, waiting for his grand finale for the match. Kurama did the same as he continued explaining to Yusuke what it meant that Hiei mastered his power, "A true master can attain dominance over and absorb the Black Dragon's immense energy. Bui's sufficiently advanced to know what he's now up against."

Right on cue, Bui's face began to bead with sweat and he looked at Hiei like he was completely out of this world. Hiei just stared down in opponent in disinterest and said, "See it? Yes, you recognize a true mastery of the Black Dragon. It's not a weapon, not in the way most might expect. What it does is enhance its master's capacities to the nth degree."

The Dragon's energy began materializing around him and flew out around his shoulders like black fiery wings. The power wrapped around his arms and I could see the power surging just inside of his eyes. Just like before, I found it difficult to breath as his power thickened the air and I placed my hand on the middle of my chest, to steady myself. The flames that surrounded Hiei were astoundingly powerful, but at the same time, elegant in its own way. Of course, I could never tell Hiei that, but still I could think it while he was too busy to read my mind. I quickly pushed those thoughts away, but my mind kept flashing back to how…handsome I thought he looked standing up there. No! Bad! Stop being a damn fangirl! One kiss does not mean you are meant to be together! It doesn't even mean you will get together! Besides he's been an ass since the finals started! I grit my teeth and gently punched the middle of my chest to get rid of those damn fantasy thoughts. It wasn't going to happen. I crossed my arms over my chest and focused on the fight.

"Blast you!" Bui shouted as he lunged at Hiei in aggravation. Seconds later he stood directly in front of Hiei and slammed his fist into his opponent's face with such force that it made my cheek hurt. Hiei on the other hand, didn't move an inch and just looked up at the larger fighter with a small grin. This angered Bui even further, but from that point on it didn't really matter because just as he moved to attack Hiei again, the Jagan-user moved closer and landed an open palmed hit to his stomach. It was like watching someone flick a fly away. Bui was sent soaring into the sky and Hiei disappeared from his spot on the ground. I could see him making his way toward Bui and then surpassing him to appear before everyone else, directly behind him. Bui didn't even see this coming and Hiei punched him down like he was nothing but a bug. I nearly broke my neck following Bui's downward crash into the middle of the spectators. Quite a few spectators were sent flying through the air and the crater that surrounded the mass of muscles that was Bui was surprisingly large.

"I felt that impact from over here…Good lord that had to hurt like a son of a bitch," I gasped feeling almost…bad for Bui. He wasn't a bad guy after all…just on the wrong team. Then again he didn't have a choice in that either. Hiei landed on the ground beside him and at first didn't seem interested in Bui at all. After a few seconds, he glanced at the fighter from the corner of his eyes and Bui had to admit defeat. Meanwhile, Juri began counting down even though absolutely no one was paying any attention to her. They were all either focused on the interaction between the fighters or getting to a safe distance, just in case the fight continued and it happened to spill out into the audience.

"Do it…finish me. When Toguro first defeated me…I knew I could improve, get stronger. The prospect of a rematch motivated me to exceed myself, but…Toguro improved too. So much so, I've no hope of challenging him again. Losing to you confirms it. I've no reason left to live," Bui said sounding as though death was what he wanted more than anything at that moment. I watched as Hiei just looked at Bui and thought over what he had said.

"Hmph! You want to die, do it yourself," with that said, Hiei jumped away from the audience seats and landed in the ring just as Juri reached nine in the count. Our favorite Jagan-user looked around at the rest of the spectators and said, "I don't take orders from nobody!"

"Ten! The match is over! The winner: Hiei!" Juri called out giving Hiei his cue to make his way back to his team. I watched him move and instantly saw his power exhaust itself. Hiei's fists were shaking slightly and his eyes were beginning to slip in and out of focus. Go figure Hiei would be the one that would use so much of his power that it knocked him out and he barely had a scratch on him. Our team rallied in excitement, or rather Yusuke did while Kuwabara was afraid to come anywhere near Hiei and Kurama and Koenma just watched in silence. Kuwabara offered that if Hiei wanted to take on the rest of the team he was more than welcome to and Hiei was forced to admit his own weakness for once. One of the more shocking moments of this tournament I had to admit.

"I…can't…this technique has an…unfortunate drawback. Let's just say that it's my turn to hibernate for a few hours. Gotta…recharge…it's unavoidable," Hiei yawned as he began to suffer the full effects of using as much power as he had. I had a slight urge to move forward to catch him as I did when Yusuke first defeated him, but something told me that his pride would not suffer such a gesture very well. Besides, Kuwabara didn't need any more fuel for his possible fire. If he caught wind of our kiss, that would be more than enough. Hiei's eyes began to close against his will and even though he was mere seconds from passing out he had enough energy to point at us and continued his lecture, "…But…I'll trust you sorry wimps…to hold up our side. If...when I wake up…I find you've lost…you'll be…be…sorry…!"

In true Hiei fashion, he closed his eyes and without cushioning his fall in anyway shape or form, collapsed on the ground in a sleeping heap. Yusuke and Kuwabara were unsure how to handle the situation at first, but finally busted out with laughter at the Jagan-user. I smiled as well and just shook my head. The sleeping expression on Hiei's face was almost…cute and I could see a softness in his features that wasn't there when he was conscious. Perhaps that would be the only time I could see such a side to the fighter, because his personality was the type that always hid behind a wall of daggers and traps. Such a wall was difficult to get through and still be consider "sane" or alive for that matter. I was shaken out of my thoughts as Koenma said, "Arrogant and overbearing to the last. Hm…gotta say…he looks so peaceful…you wouldn't think he'd just blown this stadium apart."

"That's our Hiei. Yusuke, set Kurama against that rock and let's get to work on wrapping up his injuries. Kuwabara, could you move Hiei over there next to him as well? We're gonna have some time on our hands here in a minute," I said as I walked over to where Hiei's cloak had fallen. I picked it up and was happy to find that he had two rolls of bandages hidden away in the pockets. It almost made me wonder if he planned of using them for himself or if they would "_magically_" appear when they were needed. Shaking those thoughts aside, I tossed one to Yusuke and walked over to where Hiei was resting. It was at that moment when Koto came over the speakers…or the few remaining speakers.

"We have a ruling from HQ folks! Due to the damage caused from the fight between Bui and Hiei, we will have to take a break to clean things up and on top of that we don't have a fighting ring anymore! Needless to say, we're a little unprepared to continue the fights!"

Before the demons in the audience could screech and rant in protest, Toguro suddenly appeared beside Juri and calmly asked her for her microphone. Stunned, she handed over the microphone and he looked around to say, "To salute Hiei's spectacular effort, I will take care of the question of the fighting ring. In the meantime, the rest of the Tournament Staff will work on cleaning up the rest of the arena. That is all."

"Well, there you have it folks! The tournament is currently on halt, but promised by your very own Team Toguro, it will start back up as soon as possible! We'll let you know and until then, please enjoy your time," Koto said before putting the microphone down. Toguro gave Juri her microphone and then left the stadium. Meanwhile, I returned my attention back to Hiei and began to wrap his arm so the dragon was no longer visible to everyone. As I did so, I found out something almost funny. Hiei snored! It was slight and barely audible, but was obvious if you paid close attention. I snickered slightly and wished that I had some way to record it to use it for blackmail later! Just as I wished that though, something surprising happened.

"…baka onna…" Hiei muttered in his sleep. I wrinkled my forehead and hissed between my teeth. There was no doubt in my mind that was directed at me and that fact annoyed me deeply. I finished wrapping his arm and stuffed the roll in my pocket. I stood and turned to see that Yusuke had finished as well. He threw the bandages back to me and I stuffed them back into Hiei's cloak before tossing it to the ground beside him. Then I glanced around, wondering what to do next. Aside from letting Kuwabara graffiti Hiei's face…

"Well, we have some major time to kill…I think I'm going to go get something to eat. You guys want anything?" I said placing my hands on my hips. They all gave me a blank stare and I smiled sheepishly. Yusuke shook his head and I shrugged innocently, "What? I'm hungry and watching those two go at it made me even hungrier. I can't help it!"

"Are you sure it's ok for you to walk around alone?" Kuwabara asked curiously.

I waved my hand dismissively, "Morte and Azra are long since gone. I don't have anything to worry about and now that we're into the finals, all the people that would have attacked me have been taken care of. I'll be perfectly safe. Besides, its going to take a _very_ long time for all this messed to get cleaned up. I'll be back long before the tournament starts back up again. Anyway, see ya guys soon!"

With that I turned around and left. It was easy to get out of the stadium after all the destruction Hiei had caused and I placed my hands on my hips wondering what else I should do in the meantime. Killing six hours alone would be a very interesting job, but I was sure that I could handle it. Anyway, something in the back of my head was telling me to spend some time alone. I wasn't sure what it meant, but when I had the urge to be alone, I usually followed it. I stretched somewhat and began making my way toward the apartments. I had gone a decent way into the forest until a very large shadow stepped out from behind a tree to stand in front of me. I stared at him in shock and barely managed to stammered out, "H-H-Hello T-T-Toguro…H-How can I h-help you?"

"I've decided that I want to make use of your knowledge and you so kindly stepped right into my path with no one else around to interfere. It seems that it was meant to be," Toguro said taking his sunglasses off to look at me. I froze in shock and took a step back. Toguro moved to stand directly in front of me and my back bumped into the trunk of a tree. I swallowed uncertainly and felt my heart pound against my ribcage. Oh lord…what did he want to know? I had foolishly thought that he would leave me alone and let things play out like I wasn't there at all. How stupid could I be?

"Wh…what do you want to know?" I choked out feeling sweat beginning to slip down the side of my forehead. I knew it was too good to be true. How could Toguro pass up wanting to know what was going to happen in the future? He may be one of the most powerful people in the tournament, but even he would have a difficult time fighting such a curious idea. I swallowed in fear and my mind was going a thousand miles a minute. A strange smile came across Toguro's face and I felt as though ice had been dumped down my spine. My body was trembling and I almost saw my life flash before my eyes. The sheer dumb luck that had allowed me to survive this long in their world was about to run out… I wished I had more time to spend with my new friends…

"You know as well as I do that I will fight Yusuke. I want to know one thing," Toguro leaned closer to me and stared directly into my eyes as he asked, "Will I get what I want from him? Will I get the fight I have desired for so long?"

My jaw dropped and I could only blink as my mind skid to a halt. That was it? All he wanted to know was IF Yusuke would be a good opponent. Not who won or anything like that? I stammered a few times before I said, "Yes. He's the opponent you've been waiting for…he just needs a kick in the ass once in a while…"

"Good," Toguro straightened up and put his sunglasses back on his face. He began to walk toward the old arena until he stopped and seemed to be lost in his thoughts for a moment. I pushed myself up straight against the trunk of the tree and took a deep breath. Just as I did, Toguro glanced back at me and said, "Would you like to know why you weren't attacked as soon as you confronted my team to demand a separate match with Morte?"

"I…I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't curious," I answered trying to think clearly. Why the hell was I just standing there talking to him? A smart person would have got the hell out of there by now! Damn, all those hits to the head must have knocked my good sense away. Toguro could squash me like a bug and he wouldn't even think about it. I looked back at him and stopped breathing all together. There was a softness in the corner of his eye that wasn't hidden by his glasses and I saw straight threw the new Toguro to who he used to be. I saw the Toguro that Genkai used to know…before he became possessed by his desire for power.

"There are many people in this little world of ours and there are many who are easy to understand. You, however, are not one of them. When you stood before us, fighters who were not only physically more powerful than you but mentally as well, you didn't show your fear. You stood with courage, or stupidity, and looked at each of us as if we were something other than monsters. Such a gesture intrigued all of us and we felt a strange, unexplained urge to honor your request. Which ultimately seemed to work in your favor. You see this world in a way that we cannot. Beings such as yourself are a rarity… A rarity that could be abused should the wrong people find out about it," Toguro answered before looking forward and quickly disappearing between the trees. I gasped in relief and ran my hand over my face. How the hell could I survive three different encounters with one of the strongest fighters up to that point and not have a single scratch on me? I took more beatings from the people in my group!

"Good lord…This just keeps getting stranger and stranger by the minute," I muttered quietly to myself. After checking to make sure there was no one else around, I moved away from the tree and continued making my way back to the apartments. As I walked, my hand found its way to my pocket and I held the black jewel in the palm of my hand…How did such a little thing come to be in my room and who else knew about it…?

If I followed my fangirl instincts, which I had to admit were surprisingly accurate at times, then I would have to say that it was a tear jewel shed by none other than the swordsman who nearly destroyed the entire stadium in one attack. In order for that to be true Hiei would have had to shed just a single tear…but I honestly could see Hell freeze over a thousand times before that would happen. Hiei was NOT the type of person to cry…ever…so how in the world, could it be his tear jewel? I sighed and ran my fingers over the jewel's smooth surface. Hiei didn't seem to know that I had picked it up, although he knew I had found something, and I had successfully kept my mind off it a majority of the time…But I wanted to ask him about it so badly I could feel my stomach churning in frustration. I remembered what happened the last time I had overstepped my boundaries and asked him about his tears though. The look in his eyes was enough to stop me from asking about it again.

It wasn't too much longer by the time I reached the apartments to find them practically deserted. Figuring everyone was still at the stadium, I headed to the café area and was pleased to see someone behind the counter. She seemed to be a normal human and looked as though she was into her thirties. Her grey eyes were somewhat dull and her auburn hair was pulled into a tight ponytail on the back of her head. She had glasses on and seemed to be doodling on the pad of paper that they used for taking orders. I trotted over to her and said, "Looks like business is just overflowing isn't it?"

It was like she was snapping out of a dream and she looked at me in shock and put on the trademark work smile, "Hello there. It's been a slow day since everyone is at the stadium for the Finals. I'm actually surprised you're here. Weren't you a part of the group that made it into the Finals?"

"I'm shocked you even noticed that. Yeah I am, but the Tournament was called to a temporary halt. So I decided to make my way over here and get something to eat. What all do you have?" I asked tilting my head to the side as I glanced over the menu.

"Not much I'm afraid. The food supply has been dwindling because we weren't expecting some of the appetites that have come to this Tournament. We have some sandwiches left and a few plates of fruit," she gestured to some of the foods in front of me. My stomach growled and I realized that since we got here, I hadn't really eaten what could be called a decent meal. I picked a sandwich stuffed with three different types of lunchmeat, a cup with a variety of fruit slices and a monster chocolate chip cookie. Girlish figure my ass! Hell, I already burned twice that in calories and that was just from getting my ass handed to me on a silver platter. It was my turn to eat like Yusuke and Kuwabara. Better yet, there was no one to witness it either! The lady handed over my food and looked at me with wide eyes as she said, "I don't think I've ever seen a girl like you with such a big appetite."

"I've been hanging around with these fighters too long. If I keep this up I'll turn into a jar-head like the rest of them," I laughed as I took the food and made my way over to a table to eat my meal. I had one good thing to say about this damned tournament. The food they served was amazing! I nearly inhaled the sandwich because it tasted so good and the fruit was fresh. I grinned like a Cheshire Cat the entire meal and I'm sure the lady behind the counter was trying to figure out if I was human with the way I was eating. It was only a matter of minutes before I finished it all and leaned back in my seat feeling very happy at that moment. It was nice to sit and relax after everything that had gone on since I appeared in their world. Well, that didn't last long. Suddenly the food clerk's terrified shriek broke through the room and I jumped to my feet. A shadow shot past her and flew out the door, leaving the room eerily silent and chilly. I looked over and called out, "Are you alright?"

"Y…yes I am…what was that?" she stammered as she slowly peaked out from behind the food counter. I could see that she was terrified and heard her faintly as she muttered, "I never should have took this job, no matter how good the pay is."

"I believe that would be called Hazard Pay. I'm going after that thing," I said as I darted after the apparition myself. When I reached the front of the apartments, I watched the shadowed figure disappear into the nearby trees. Feeling determination swell in my chest, I quickly ran after them and made sure I didn't lose sight of them for more than five seconds as I weaved in and out of trees to follow them. We went into the middle of the forest and I skid to a stop cursing myself in anger. They managed to get out of my sight just long enough for me to completely lose them. I stared around the clearing I had just entered and looked about the trees, hoping I could find something that would tell me where the guy had gone. I put my hands on my hips and growled, "Damn shadows….wait…shadows…Ah hell!"

Right on cue two dozen shadow creatures, like the ones that had been called during my fight with Morte, flew out of the trees and quickly surrounded me. I glanced around as my hands slowly reached toward my chakram and took a deep breath. I wasn't entirely sure that I could fight all of these creatures on my own, but it wasn't like I had any other choice and on top of that, my right arm was beginning to ache for some strange reason. I arched my eyebrows and said, "Why do I have this sinking feeling that this is just the tip of the iceberg? Morte and Azra have to have more than just this up their sleeves…Fricking hell."

I unhooked my chakram and prepared for the battle ahead.

_-Until Next Time-_

_**ME:**_** Yes…Yes…That seems like it would be a good idea… (Still lost in the world of writing not even noticing that Hiei and Ghost have just returned.)**

_**Ghost:**_** (holds nose) I will not go anywhere near her until she is a safe, measurable distance away from that accursed piece of technology.**

_**Hiei:**_** You should have tried a more strategic approach. (attempts to teleport beside me but just as he does a net catches him and hangs him high above my head, just out of sight from the computer screen.)**

_**ME:**_** (glances up from my chair) Seriously Hiei? How did you not see that one coming? Ghost, I can handle. You I have to be a little more underhanded with. Set traps and set you up. Otherwise, I won't have any secrets left.**

_**Hiei:**_** When I get down from here, baka onna, you'll pay. Dearly, you will pay.**

_**Ghost:**_** (looking over the pyro) I think you're in a rather…difficult predicament…I think…I shall just stay out of the way.**

_**ME:**_** Until next time readers. PLEASE drop me a review. It's kinda depressing me that I'm seeing so few reviews! See you later!**


	33. Stone Cold Killing Machine

_**ME:**_** Well that was fun…but I seem to have encountered a severe problem. Due to my…writing induced stage of hypnosis last chapter, I seem to have lost both my muses. I made the unfortunate mistake of releasing Hiei and he seems to have disappeared with Ghost in tow…so temporarily Kurama will host the chapter with me. **

_**Kurama:**_** (walking up perfectly calm) The disappearance of both those fighters does not exactly bode well for you considering they both have grudges from the last chapter. Hiei will be wiser the second time around. He will not be captured so easily.**

_**ME:**_** Of which I am well aware…I'll be needing more protection from my ever faithful readers. In the meantime, I will be conducting a search in order to find them and if anyone has anything that could help, don't be afraid to say something. Could you do the disclaimer please?**

_**Kurama:**_** Of course. The authoress would like to point out that she does not own anything from Yu-Yu Hakusho. She just owns her own characters.**

_**ME:**_** Thank you, Kurama! Now, I have to go look for those two fighters before something horrible happens.**

_**Kurama:**_** If you don't mind my asking, what did you do with those ideas you were typing when you offended the two of them.**

_**ME:**_** (grinning like a Cheshire Cat) Oh those nifty little ideas are tucked safely away. Far away from prying eyes and there are quite a few clever traps surrounding them. Hehe.**

_**Kurama:**_** (sweatdrop) I have a feeling this venture is going to end poorly. Chapter start.**

_**(Just to get this out of the way, I do plan on continuing this story all the way to the Demon World Tournament. This chapter may seem to be "wrapping it up" but I just want to clear it up now, it's not… I might as well just say it, I'm setting the story up for a suitable twist to follow the original storyline.)**_

_-Chapter Start- _

_**Chapter 33: Stone Cold Killing Machine**_

Right on cue two dozen shadow creatures, like the ones that had been called during my fight with Morte, flew out of the trees and quickly surrounded me. I glanced around as my hands slowly reached toward my chakram and took a deep breath. I wasn't entirely sure that I could fight all of these creatures on my own, but it wasn't like I had any other choice and on top of that, my right arm was beginning to ache for some strange reason. I arched my eyebrows and said, "Why do I have this sinking feeling that this is just the tip of the iceberg? Morte and Azra have to have more than just this up their sleeves…Fricking hell."

I unhooked my chakram and prepared for the battle ahead.

At first the shadows merely swayed from side to side and I could feel what little power I had coursing through my veins. This was going to get interesting and there was a faint doubt in the back of my head telling me that I wasn't going to win this fight, but I quickly pushed it away. In unison, the creatures lunged and I fell to the ground doing the splits, which impressed even myself. I used my hands as braces against the ground and waited for them to get close. Once they were within range, I swung my chakram in a circle around me with just enough force to knock them back and rolled to the side before any of them could recover. I jumped to my feet and wrapped my arms around the neck of the closest creature. Without even thinking about it, I twisted his neck until I heard a satisfying crack that told me his it had been broken. I didn't bother to watch him fade away as I tightly gripped my chakram and bashed the head in of a nearby enemy. Just as I was beginning to feel a little reassured of my strength, I turned and was slammed into a nearby tree with a single hit to the jaw. My head cracked against the bottom of the tree trunk and dazed me for a couple of seconds. This effectively blurred my sight and I was unable to figure out what the hell had just happened.

I was out of it long enough for the creatures to pounce and dig their claws into my right arm. I hissed in anger and thrashed against them with every ounce of energy I had. Surprisingly I managed to throw them off and rolled onto my side to look over what had happened to my arm. It was bleeding slightly and the skin cut open by the attack looked like it was beginning to turn an ashy grey. Hissing in anger, I rolled off one of the roots and pulled myself to my feet. There was a creature trying to jump me and I sliced my chakram through his chest. Then I kicked him away and dodged behind the trunk of the tree. How the hell had I gotten myself into this godforsaken situation? There wasn't enough time for me to move again before I was slammed from the side once more. The impact sent me spinning through the trees and I barely managed to stay on my feet. Using the momentum, I pushed myself through the tree trunks and did everything I could to keep running. At that moment, the only thing on my mind was getting somewhere that it was an open fighting space. I was about sick and tired of all the fighting in the trees nonsense. If I was going to fight these creatures fairly, I need to make it so they wouldn't have any place to hide. I could handle these mindless drones, so long as they didn't have any place to sneak up on me.

"Come on you sons of bitches. I'll show you a real fight here in a minute," I growled as my mind cleared up enough for me to realize where I was. I gleefully recognized the area and was able to hear the sound of waves directly before me. I had somehow managed to put myself close to the beach. I pushed myself even harder and soon broke through the rim. I jumped into the air and spun around to land in the sand directly facing my enemies. My feet skid through the sand and I could feel the sand get into my shoes. My wolfish instincts began to kick in and I started squaring off my shoulders, more than ready to show these imitations how demonic I really was.

The shadows shot out of the tree line like a bullet straight out of the barrel and I was hit square in the middle of the chest. It took three of them to knock me off my feet and send me toppling back through the sand. I howled in fury and kicked my feet into the back of the head of one of the creatures. Another creature pushed us even further and we rolled to the point where I could feel the waves touching my shoulders. I grit my teeth and knew this wasn't going to end well, at all. I struggled to get my hands free and once I had it took me a few minutes to throw my attackers far enough away that I could roll back. Instantly a wave struck me from behind and knocked me clean off my feet. It was difficult for me to right myself, but it was practically useless to try. I barely managed to stand in the water when I was thrown back again. This time we were deep enough in the water that none of us had the footing to stand and were at the currents mercy. All of us scrambled to gain an edge and this caused such confusion that we didn't realize how deep we were swept into the water until we finally broke apart. My first mission was to swim to the surface to get some air.

I broke through the surface and took in a deep breath. While I had the moment, I looked around and quickly saw that I hadn't drifted too far from the beach, but I definitely needed to watch how much farther I was pulled by the current. Just as I was close to taking another gulp of air, I felt a clawed hand wrap around my throat. The enemies dragged me below the surface once again, but this time, they were wrapped tightly around my arms and legs. I struggled to get away from them, but they held me in place. It was then that they made the move I had been trying to avoid the entire fight. Without warning, they dug their nails into my right arm and instantly broke the skin. I foolishly opened my mouth to scream and lost the small amount of air I managed to get before being dragged under. I tried to pull away from them, but their plan didn't stop there. My eyes widened in shock as the shadows began to take on less of a humanoid shape and turn into clouds of darkness. Once they had, they suddenly seeped into the slits in my skins and my arm flared in pain. Tears sprang to my eyes and further blurred my already sketchy vision. It was almost impossible to think straight and my arm felt like it was being torn to shreds. The pain was so intense that I couldn't form a coherent thought in my head and on top of that, my lungs were searing with the need for air. I could only curse myself for my lack of caution and prayed that something would happen to keep me from dying once again.

This saving grace came in the form of a memory. I flashed back to my fight with Ghost and the stone he gave me that would supposedly help me if I needed it. I focused on calling it out to my left hand. Seconds later, I felt the stone's smooth surface land in the palm of my hand and I quickly slammed it into my damaged arm, hoping that whatever help it could provide me would be enough to save my arm from what was happening to it. Pain shot through my arm and I couldn't keep my mouth shut from screaming in pain. At this point, I no longer had any air in my lungs and my vision was beginning to turn grey from the lack of oxygen. It was impossible for me to move my right arm, but I managed to kick my feet with enough force that I broke the surface of the water one more time. Gasping for air, I glanced around and quickly caught sight of the beach, but that wasn't all I managed to see. There was a certain Irish red-head that was perched on the same cliff that I had been thrown off of earlier in the tournament. He caught sight of me and I watched him jump off the cliff to fly over to where I was.

"Looks like you need help, that you do," Jin said as he extended a hand out to me. I reached up with my good hand and allowed him to pull me out of the water. We skittered atop the water as he flew us toward the beach and I looked over my arm. I nearly froze in shock. The skin was a visible grey…almost like stone. On top of that, I could barely move any part of it, my fingers included. I closed my eyes and stubbornly refused to look at anything else until Jin placed me safely on the sand. Exhaustion overtook me and I just collapsed on my back without giving a damn about how I looked or what Jin thought of me. At that moment I was in so much pain that I nearly felt like I was going to pass out. There was shuffling beside me and I could hear someone breathing beside me. Jin gently placed his hands on my shoulders and asked, "Are you alright?"

"My…arm…hurts…" I whimpered as I slowly opened my eyes and tried to sit up. Jin helped me up and looked at my arm in shock. His eyes widened and I chanced another look at my arm. The color of grey seemed to have darkened on my arm and it felt like lead. My nerves felt like they were dead and my inability to move was only worsening. I growled in aggravation and I cradled my arm close to my chest.

"What were ya doin' out there? Not takin' a swim from what I saw," Jin asked tilting his head to the side. I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes and saw something flash on his face that confused me. It was almost like he expected something bad to happen right before his very eyes. I hissed and reached into my pocket, looking for the bandages I had taken from the group before.

"I was attacked and allowed myself to be outsmarted. Not exactly feeling the best about myself at the moment. Anyway, why are you looking at me like that? This beating wasn't even that bad," I said finding the bandages and trying my best to wrap my arm, but failed magnificently. Jin finally took them from me and began doing it for me; effectively making me feel even more foolish than I already did.

"I saw ya after your match with that Morte, that I did. You seemed…beaten up pretty bad. Even that little fella seemed worried about ya," Jin said in a barely audible whisper. I blinked in surprise and looked at him, almost unable to comprehend what he just said.

"Wait…you…saw?"

"There was a rumor going around, there was. It said you and that Morte woman were havin' your fight early, that you were. I managed to get there just as it ended. They were carryin' you out and you looked like you were…" Jin trailed off and glanced away from me. Once again, I didn't know how to react and I bit down on the corner of my lip. Jin cleared his throat and said, "Anyways, Urameshi told me that you were gonna be alright and that Hiei fella whisked you off before anything else could happen."

My situation still absolutely baffled me. I was a complete and total outsider. I never once belonged in the story of their lives and me being there possibly endangered the fate that I knew they would have. No matter how hard I wished, I wouldn't be able to be one of them…and yet they still seemed to be so concerned about me. Guilt hit my chest and I looked out at the water before me while Jin finished wrapping up my arm. I didn't want them to be so worried about me, and I didn't want to cause them so much trouble. I especially didn't want people like Jin constantly worrying about my wellbeing. They all had more important things to be worried about than a fool like myself. I sighed and ran my hand through my hair as Jin sat back.

"Thank you for helping me out with my arm…and please do me a favor…don't mention this to anyone at all. I don't want anyone worrying about me and I'm sorry that you had to come to my rescue just now. I would've thought that by now I wouldn't be such a damn damsel in distress," I sighed and shook my head. Jin handed the bandages back to me and I pocketed them as quickly as I could. Sighing, I pushed myself to my feet and continued, "Thank you, Jin…for being my friend."

"Rin…no problem!" Jin dismissed his worry and it was replaced with his normal grin. He raised his hand expectantly and I smiled as I clapped my hand against his. We laughed and I looked over my arm. It still ached, but it seemed to me as though my arm had been completely petrified. Chances were, it was going to take a long time to heal and I needed to hide it from the group while it healed. I sighed and we both got to our feet. Jin looked over at me and asked, "You gonna manage to get back to the stadium on your own?"

"Yeah, I'll make it back on my own. Thanks for worrying though and thanks for bandaging my arm. I really appreciate your concern," I smiled gratefully. He nodded and began to walk way, but stopped when he was just about to disappear into the trees. I watched him look back with a small smile on his face.

"Ya know, runnin' around and gettin' into trouble will cause alotta trouble for everyone, that it will. You have friends. Don't cha be forgettin' that," Jin quickly turned around and left without another word. I listened to hear him leave and sighed to myself. He had no idea that I couldn't forget that…and it made me feel guilty. I turned to walk through the trees and took my sweet time. There would still be quite a few hours before the tournament would start back up again and I didn't feel the need to see Toguro carry in the second ring…after all I would get an up-close-and-personal view of his strength later on when he fought Yusuke. In the meantime, I needed some time to myself.

I could now remember the many nightmares I had dreamt since coming to their world. The dreams of being on fire. The dreams of maniacal laughter. The mantras pounding through my brain. Not to mention, every hateful word Morte whispered to me in my sleep.

"_You will kill them all."_

"_You are a burden. A worthless outcast."_

"_You're weak and forever will be."_

"_Pathetic, weak girl."_

"_You don't know them. You never did. You are nothing more than a foolish fangirl who was brought here to destroy them. Every minute you spend shortens their lives. You will kill them all."_

"_What made you think you were special? What made you think they couldn't care for you? They don't like you by choice. You were thrust into their lives and needed protection. They jumped to action as they had to, but they never chose to care about you. You're nothing to them other than another soul to keep safe."_

I stopped walking and leaned against a tree trunk. Aside from the fact that Hiei called me a burden on more than one occasion, I couldn't believe one way or another if it was true. I believed that I was strong enough to stand and fight my own battles. I didn't need them to be there every step of the way, but I would willingly admit, I had grown accustomed to them being there whenever I fell flat on my ass and needed someone to help me up. I groaned in annoyance and slid to sit on a tree trunk and reached into my pocket; instantly finding the black jewel where I had placed it before. I held it up to the light, peaking through the leaves of the trees and for a moment, allowed myself to believe that it was a tear jewel produced from a single tear of Hiei Jaganshi. Now all I had to do, was figure out what in the hell had caused him to shed one single tear. On top of that, why had it been left in my room? Was it by pure accident? Or had he meant to leave it so no one would be able to find it and considering I would kill someone if they came into my room, he figured it was the safest place for it to be. I tilted my head to the side and ran my fingers over its glossy surface. I saw my face reflected in its surface and looked over myself carefully.

It was obvious how much I had changed. The loose temper I had trouble controlling back home now at least had a leash I could keep it on. I actually enjoyed my hair being short now and my face looked far more mature than it had before. Physically, I was in the best shape I had ever been, aside from the injuries endured in the fights. I was happy to have experienced what I did, but perhaps, I had overstayed my welcome. Plus, how was I going to get home, if I didn't look for a way to get there myself. Morte sure as hell wasn't going to take me back home and I really doubted that Koenma would figure something out. Maybe this was one of those things I was gonna have to do on my own. I sighed and hid the jewel away in my pocket once again.

My arm was still completely immobile and it seared in pain every few seconds but I was able to push it to the back of my mind. If there was one thing I had learned from everything that happened to me, it was how to refocus my mind on something other than pain. I got to my feet and made my way back to the arena. There was no need to rush and I didn't. After all, I had plenty of time and the walk gave me space to think about things. I took the time to let my surrounding envelope me. Every little breeze raced across my senses and my nose managed to pick up even the slightest of scents. My eyes noticed every shadow and every movement of the leaves, but my brain couldn't seem to process all of them. There were still too many thoughts demanding to be considered.

It took a while, but I slowly made my approach to the front gates of the arena. There were tons of demons all over the place and a few times I was shoved in the back as I made my way through them. At one point I nearly lost my temper and as I spun around I got the glimpse of one of the Ogres I had yelled at before. I arched my eyebrow as we made eye-contact and then turned around, deciding that the last thing I needed to do was get myself into another fight. Especially since I was alone and the Ogre was surrounded by his posse of pathetic demons. I heard him laugh behind me and heard his gravel-like voice croak, "Well, look who's not so tough when she's not surrounded by her comrades. Maybe she's weaker than we thought."

I was about to come back with a smart ass retort when I felt Ghost appear at my side and take care of that for me, "Perhaps one such as yourself should see the difference between picking a battle that is not worth having and being weak. Rin's strength is not in question here and if it were, you would not be the one living after everything is said and done. Now, I would suggest you remove yourself from this situation or you will end up dead. That is a promise, not a threat."

I turned around to see the Ogre running away as fast as his stubby legs could carry him. I smiled somewhat and looked at Ghost saying, "Protective as ever aren't we? It would seem that I will always be lucky to have a ghost following me."

"Your arm is injured. How did that come to happen?"

"Always straight to the point aren't we? Sometimes I'm not sure which one of you is worse, you or Hiei. I dropped my guard and paid a price. I'm here now though," I said hiding my arm behind my back, but Ghost's arm shot forward and wrapped his fingers around my forearm, bringing it out where he could see. I flinched as pain flashed through my nerves and I spoke in monotone when I said, "Ouch…"

"You used the stone I gave you, am I correct?" Ghost asked staring at me serious.

"Yes, and the incident was controlled. Don't worry about it. I'm ok," I said with a smirk. I gently removed his hand from my arm and continued, "Don't worry. I'm not going on anymore misadventures. I promise. I plan on staying as close to the group as I can. After all, things are about to get a little out of hand and I don't want to be caught too off guard."

"It's eerie how you know these things, you are aware of this correct?" Ghost asked shaking his head. I laughed and shrugged slightly. It was then that I noticed he was wearing a denim jacket hung over his shoulder by one hand. It reminded me of something that Yusuke would do but I quickly pushed the thought to the back of my mind.

"Would you mind if I wore that?" I said pointed at it curiously. He looked at me puzzled for a moment before handing it to me without another word. I quickly swung it over my shoulders and slid my arms into the sleeves. Just as I had expected, the coat hung big on me and almost completely hid my wrapped arm, except for my hand. I smiled in satisfaction and Ghost took that moment to comment.

"You plan on using that to hide your arm from the others aren't you?"

"You caught me. I think this will thoroughly keep my arm hidden from everyone except for Kurama and possibly Hiei. Frankly, I'm hoping that he's still a little too out of it to notice, but there are no guarantees. This at least gives me a little more comfort than just walking in with it out for everyone to see. I mean what do you think the shrimp would think? That I was trying to copy-cat him? Hell no."

Ghost laughed, satisfied with that and we made our way inside the arena, all the while my comrade was playing defense for me; shoving aside anyone he thought got too close to me. I laughed a few times before getting used to it and we made our way to where everyone else was. Yusuke looked like he was about to punch through an entire wall in anticipation and Kuwabara was sweating profusely; almost enough it seemed to fill three entire glasses already. Kurama was calmly reading his book and he was the first one to notice the bandages on my hand. I could see his mind working overtime to process it, however he didn't say anything and just nodded at me with a smile. Hiei meanwhile was still sleeping quite peacefully where he had been placed before. At that moment, there was a low rumble and a hush completely fell over the stadium. My eyes widened and I instantly realized what was going on. After all, I had noticed that all the rubble from the original ring had been pushed to the side and was slowly being carried away. Technically, I had left and come back just long enough to see Toguro carrying in the ring. My group acted in similar shock.

Both Yusuke and Kuwabara's jaws dropped and eyes popped. Kurama dropped his book and Ghost even sucked in a startled breath. I slowly turned around and froze on the spot to see Toguro carrying the ring on his back. He moved as though it was just a minor inconvenience and mere seconds later after he cleared the outer rim of trees surrounding the front of the stadium, I felt his aura smack clean into my chest. The sheer force of it took the breath from my chest and my mind snapped back to the multiple times I had stood in front of him, so close that there was barely an arm's length between us. Then my pessimistic mind flashed to the last time I stood with him in the woods and instead of letting me go after he asked his question, I imagined him powering up to fifty percent. He drew back his fist and I tightly shut my eyes as I imagined his fist colliding with my relatively small frame and completely shattering my form. My body began trembling at the thought and it became too much for me. Once again, I shut down, this time on purpose and blacked out.

-_Sometime Later_-

I shot up into a sitting position and whipped my head around, trying to figure out how long I had been out of it and how much I had missed. As I did, my forehead smacked directly into Ghost's forehead as well and I instantly fell right back down growling in pain as I did. Ghost howled in pain as he fell back and this alerted the rest of our comrades that I had finally decided to get off my lazy ass and wake up. Yusuke went over to be sure that Ghost didn't have any brain damage from my thick skull and Kuwabara helped me to sit up, snickering madly the entire time. I hissed in annoyance and noticed Koenma struggling to keep a straight face as well. I pushed Kuwabara back so he fell on his back, still imitating a freaking hyena. I glared at him out of the corner of my eyes and stated, "So good to be your source of amusement, baka!"

"I wonder if we should be worried about Ghost. He may have just possibly sustained permanent brain damage from the collision," Kurama said with a smirk. I hissed at him and arched my eyebrows. Was it just amusing to watch me be in pain?

"Argh, no don't worry about me guys. My head is perfectly fine and none of the previous trauma has made it sensitive or anything. It's cool," I growled as Kuwabara rolled onto all fours and Ghost stood up holding his head. I looked at him apologetically and he merely shook his head.

"I am removing myself from anymore possible friendly fire and going back to sitting with the others. I will see you all at the end of the round," with that, Ghost turned and left with what little dignity and bruised pride he had at that moment. Meanwhile, I slowly got to my feet and noticed how heavy my arm felt. It felt like the skin had been covered in lead and pulled me down. I sighed and held my head with my other hand, trying to distract myself from the pain.

"So how long was I out of it?" I asked looking back at the group as they finally managed to control themselves. They wiped away their tears of laughter and Kurama was just about to answer me when I noticed Hiei move. I stared at him and as he was opening his eyes, Kurama looked his way too.

"Ah! You're awake!" Kurama said with a small smile. Hiei pushed himself up into a sitting position. Kuwabara and Yusuke confirmed that he was alright before they turned around and noticed that the other team was taking their place on the opposite side of the ring. I moved back angled out of Hiei's immediate sight and waited for everything to fall into place. Things were already beginning to happen and I didn't want to risk changing it any more than I already had.

"…so…how long was I out?" Hiei asked looking around trying to figure out what happened after he had lost consciousness. The swordsman glanced around and found me despite my attempt hide. Without moving, he looked over his shoulder at me and I sensed his eyes narrow on my bandaged hand. I withdrew my arm into the sleeve and focused my attention elsewhere so he wouldn't read in my eyes that anything had happened. I took a breath and wondered if he knew why I had been acting jittery since I found his tear jewel. Although, in all honesty I really hoped he didn't and I was more focused on trying to make sure he didn't read my mind.

"About six hours," Kurama answered calmly.

"And the tournament? How's it going?" Hiei inquired looking around curiously.

"After your win, they called a halt," Kurama replied focusing his attention back on his book.

"Huh? Why?" Hiei asked not comprehending why they would do such a thing when prior, they had made our team fight two teams back-to-back in an attempt to get rid of us. So why in God's name would the same people call a halt to the bloodshed?

Kurama chuckled and grinned as he answered, "To clear up the mess you made of the place."

There was a thump over the speakers and I could see both Koto and Juri messing with their microphones. I made a slowly rotation where I was standing to look over the audience and saw that most of them had returned to their seats. That could mean only one thing. The action was about to pick up once again. I walked over to Kuwabara as he tried to get his head in the fame and I placed my hand on his shoulder. He looked back at me and I smiled at him, "You're a hell of a lot tougher than you give yourself credit for you frizzy haired baka. Now, this is your chance to waste this guy and show off your skills. No matter what happens, and no matter how this guy tries to screw with your head, remember that we're counting on you, even if some of us won't admit to it."

He nodded after realizing my insult was more a term of endearment and said, "You got it!"

I gave him a hard pat on the back, as hard as I could manage with my lack of strength, and continued, "Knock 'em dead."

At that moment, Juri jumped into the middle of the ring and raised her hand over her head as she said, "Sorry for the wait, folks! But now we're ready to go!"

"We're under way again after a six-hour break!" Koto shouted as a roar went up from the crowd. She waited for some of it to subside before she continued, "Which hasn't dampened the enthusiasm of this crowd!"

Kuwabara walked up to the ring and the demons around the stadium continued their normal shouts of death and sneers. I rolled my eyes and just resigned myself to hearing them. It wouldn't be much longer before this would all come to an end and we would be getting the hell out of here. All that was left was two fights. That's it and then we'd be riding the boat off this god forsaken island. Hiei snorted in contempt at the demons and said, "Still favoring the Toguros? Even after I defeated Bui and knocked 'em around like that?"

Kurama looked at Hiei carefully and explained, "While you were asleep…Toguro impressed them with a little stunt."

At Hiei's questioning look, Kurama launched into his explanation of what happened, and thankfully for me, he left out the part of me losing my composure. I sent him a grateful look and he merely nodded when Hiei was looking at the ring instead of Kurama.

"He hauled over the ring from the old arena?" the pyro stated in absolute shock. Kurama's face grew very serious and I felt a chill from the memory of it.

"To salute your spectacular effort, he said," the red-head stated plainly immediately silencing his friend. Hiei looked over at me for a moment and I made eye-contact with him long enough for him to catch something in my eyes. I saw his face change and I knew I made a mistake as my hand shot into my pocket.

"_What do you have in your pocket that you are trying to keep me from seeing?"_ Hiei asked in the exact same tone he used on me when we first met and he wanted to know how I knew anything about his sister. At this point, I had figured out how to keep him from reading my mind, but as for guessing what's in my eyes, that was a different story.

"_It's none of your business. I have things of my own that I don't want to talk about. Just as you do,"_ I replied turning my attention back to Kuwabara who was sweating bullets and clenching the handle of the sword as tightly as he could. I even saw his knuckles beginning to turn white. Koenma stepped up to him and Hiei decided to drop the conversation we were previously having.

"You okay? Bowls acting up, perhaps?"

"I'm fine, thanks!" Kuwabara snapped at him in annoyance. The irritation was plain to see as he glared over Koenma and continued, "What use are you, anyway? If Genkai were here, I could've tackled the middle-aged dude."

Hiei's eyes widened and his face grew serious as he said, "He _still_ doesn't know she's dead?"

"That's what it looks like…" Kurama trailed off, clearly not wanting to be the one who breaks the news to him. Hiei then fixed his eyes on me, and I looked away, determined not to give into my emotions. Realizing he would not get an answer out of me, Hiei thus turned to Yusuke who was in turn, not looking at any of us.

"Yusuke…why haven't you told him?" Hiei asked seriously. Yusuke remained silent and Kuwabara stepped into the ring, still clutching the hilt of the sword. The demons roared their normal shouts of telling us to die and I just crossed my arms tightly over my chest. The swordsman began formulating his plan and was waiting for Juri to start the match.

"Begin!" Juri shouted.

Kuwabara powered up as well allow his power to surge all around him. I blinked in utter shock at how much stronger he had become. His sword looked far more dangerous than before and it sparked around him like thorns surrounding him. His power disturbed the air and I felt the breeze flow around me. Good lord. Now even Kuwabara would be able to destroy me without a second thought. Frickin' hell!

"His recuperative powers have been boosted. The sword's aura is also enhanced. It's both a weapon and a shield," Kurama stated with an impressed tone. Even Hiei looked surprised and we watched as Kuwabara lunged straight into a full out assault. Elder Toguro took in the situation and at that very moment I saw the cracks form in the ground. My recovering power could sense him moving beneath the ring and I was reminded even more of a snake, slithering through his hiding place. My eyes darkened as Kuwabara advanced and even Yusuke noticed the cracks in the floor. He didn't move and I flinched away as Kuwabara raised his sword to slice through what I knew to be a decoy of Elder Toguro. The audience of demons began to throw a fit and I grimaced as he sliced straight through the side of the body. It fell like a banana peel sliding down to the side. For a moment, time froze and everyone was silent as we watched the scene unfold. Kuwabara was completely beside himself at the thought that with one attack he ended the entire fight.

"Eh? Is…is that it? D-did I…did I actually win?" Kuwabara ask with wide eyes. I watched as the enemy raised his hand from below the ring floor and stab his fingers through Kuwabara's shoulders and arms. He shouted in pain and I watched him hit the ground like a ton of frickin' bricks with his blood splattering all around the floor.

"Kuwabara!" Yusuke shouted as all of us leaned forward in concern, except for Hiei who merely leaned forward with an unreadable face. My nose picked up the scent of his blood and I cringed, somewhat disturbed that my nose continued to pick up on that all the time. Kuwabara groaned in pain and pushed his head up to look around and figure out what the hell had just happened. At that moment, Elder Toguro made his way out of the ground where he had been hiding while the mannequin he made took the beating.

"Heh heh heh…Such naiveté…it's quite entertaining really," he said as he moved to be sticking out of the ground from the waist up. Kuwabara looked back and he paled when he saw where his opponent had moved.

"Holy…spit! There's two of him!" Kuwabara gasped in shock. I could see sweat slipping down the side of his face and I shuddered. It was just about then that things were going to start going downhill.

"You attacked an extruded mannequin. It feels pain, but you feel it worse." I shuddered as half of his face moved. It was so chilling to watch. "My organs are all rather free-floating. I drilled through the stone with my feet… That's how I got over here." He picked up the sword hilt that Kuwabara had used for his power boost. "A handy, well-made device. A memento from Genkai? Funny…such a gift wasted on such a nitwit. How can she hope to rest in peace?"

"What?" Kuwabara stammered as he pushed himself up a bit with shock written all over his face. He struggled against his pain and continued, "Did you just say-?"

"This surprises you? You mean…you didn't know?" Elder Toguro asked in surprise. His eyes began to glint maliciously as he continued, "Genkai is dead. Killed in a fight."

"What…but…when Rin said…y'mean I was the only one…who didn't know?" Kuwabara began to growl when he was stabbed by his opponent all over again. I flinched and closed my eyes when Kuwabara hit the ground.

"Heh heh heh heh…heh heh heh…Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Your "friends" didn't bother to inform you?" he laughed causing me to ball my fist in aggravation. More than anything, I wanted him to shut his god damned mouth, but I knew that wouldn't happen. After all, he had to go through his "puppet show" of Genkai's death. I steeled my resolve and looked up, just in time to see him raise his hand and start to transform it to look like a young version of Genkai. Elder Toguro raised his hand proudly and said, "I'll tell you the tale…with a little puppet show."

"What a sick and twisted bastard," I spat viciously causing Hiei to stir somewhat. I looked back and I saw his eyebrows arched at me. I looked at him and just said with a single look, _"What?"_

"_That's quite a bit of anger you have stored up there. Even your power flashes with it,"_ he responded calmly. I sighed and turned my attention back to the match when I replied.

"_There are a lot of depraved demons out there. There are so many more to see that its terrifying, but bastards like these guys…I wish them all to suffer the way they make everyone else suffer,"_ I hissed as Elder Toguro began his horrific story.

"Once, long ago, two dear friends…a young man and woman, together sought to master the martial arts. But time passed…the woman aged, lost her looks…"

"Brother…" Toguro said warningly. I could sense the anger ripple within him, but he masked it well enough that no one else could sense it.

"This won't take long," Elder Toguro said calmly as he looked back at Kuwabara, completely missing the glare in Toguro's eyes, "The man, though, called on the powers of the Demon Plane to preserve his youth. Consumed by jealousy, the woman challenged him to a duel. Sadly, she was off her game…but he wasn't." At that moment, he stabbed the Genkai mannequin and it felt like a fire had been unleashed in my chest. I wanted nothing more than to rip his face off, but I managed to remain absolutely silent. Elder Toguro stabbed his fingers further into the mannequin as he continued, "And so my brother finished it…like this…and she went to heaven. And he lived happily ever after. Ha ha ha ha ha!"

Kuwabara's face darkened and I could sense his power building. It was so subtle that I was honestly shocked that I sensed it, but as I continued to watch I saw his skin have a protective layer of his own aura. It was like a shield and I could see growing stronger; growing thicker. I knew what would happen next, but it was still amazing to see him protect himself. To watch Kuwabara put up the barrier of protection was so…amazing, I admired the strength he had. Kuwabara slowly got to his feet and Toguro sighed, "I…hate it when he does that."

Everyone was silent long enough for Kuwabara to stand and growl quietly, "That's enough…of that crap, pal."

"Still acting tough, huh? But I have your sword. Your aura alone won't amount to much," the small man said dismissively as he failed to notice his opponent's resolve harden even more. Kuwabara told him once more to shut up and getting tired of the opposition, Elder Toguro made to stab Kuwabara as he said, "You shut up…and die!"

"Heh…go show him what for Kuwabara," I muttered with a small smile.

Just then, Elder Toguro's sharp fingers made contact with Kuwabara's chest and stopped in place. Kuwabara looked at him with dark, cold eyes and his enemy began to freak, "This…This doesn't make sense! They can't pierce your skin!"

This pushed Kuwabara over the edge and he jumped into action as he shouted, "I said shut up! And die!"

As soon as Kuwabara called his sword out, I saw it take a completely different form. It indeed looked like shuriken and it sliced straight through Elder Toguro like he was absolutely nothing. Blood splattered everywhere and I watched the creep hit the ground like a ton of bricks. He was absolutely shocked about what just happened and he looked up saying, "Guuh…! Your sword is giving off an aura like shuriken. You're more ingenious than I expected."

Kuwabara hit his knees in exhaustion and my entire group seemed impressed at his resourcefulness. I meanwhile cradled my bad arm to my chest and waited. It wasn't over just yet, but at least this would be ending soon enough and then…we'd get to the main event that we had all been waiting for since this very start of this tournament. Anxiety bubbled in my chest and I prayed that it would play out exactly as it had in the manga. I hoped that Azra and Morte hadn't done anything to make Toguro stronger than he already was. I sighed and chomped down on the corner of my lip.

"Heh heh…but you're badly hurt…too hurt to come up with any new aura tricks. I, on the other hand, don't have that problem," just as the last syllable left his mouth his body began to reconnect and fuse back together. The sound bothered me and my ears twitched in disgust. As he stood up, the rest of the audience began to mummer in astonishment at what just happened. Elder Toguro smiled and began moving his organs all over his face. I shuddered and looked away. It was one thing to see in anime and the manga, but in person actually seeing him move his mouth, eyes and even his fingers all around his head. If I hadn't stopped looking, without a doubt I would've thrown up just watching it.

"You might take Kurama's trick and go for my heart…but can you tell where any of my vital organs really are?" Elder Toguro asked with a chuckle. I heard Kuwabara growl in annoyance and his enemy sighed when he heard him get to his feet. I figured it was safe to look again and I opened my eyes to see Kuwabara getting stabbed once again as Elder Toguro said, "Back on your feet? Sorry…but I like you much better flat on the ground."

Kuwabara was instantly pinned to the ground and he called out in pain. Yusuke balled his fists and called out to his friend. I winced and smelled his blood thicken the air. Juri jumped on the count and I shouted, "Let's go Kuwabara! Don't let your power go to waste here!"

"I'm more comfortable with you this way. If you want to try for a T.K.O…don't. I'd just slit your throat."

"…Enjoy this moment. It's your last," Kuwabara stated coldly as he looked over his enemy. His emotionless stunned me. Kuwabara was always the first one to fire up emotions in this kind of situations and to see him…so calm was unnerving.

"Don't make me laugh…you're a frog about to be dissected," Elder Toguro said as he raised his hand to deliver what he thought would be the last blow. I saw Kuwabara's hand twitch on the ground and smirked. Elder Toguro raised his hand and said, "Die!"

"Sword Extend!" Kuwabara's power went straight through the ground, just as his opponent had before and found the hilt of the sword that he was using to channel his power. Once the power touched it, the sword jumped into action. Just as he sliced his enemy into multiple pieces he said, "You're the frog, pal! Slice an' dice!"

Elder Toguro landed on the ground in pieces and Kuwabara got to his feet to stand over his down opponent. However, Elder Toguro merely smiled and said, "Got me fair and square! But you still haven't delivered anything like a lethal blow! Heh heh…I'll just reassemble again…and again…and again!"

Kuwabara straightened up proudly and held his weapon out to his side. Instantly it turned into something that resembled a flyswatter, except a little more dangerous looking. The frizzy haired fighter looked over his weapon for a moment as he said, "This things really something. It took the most effective shape. Both times. Since, I don't know your weak spots…I'll just squash you whole!"

He reared back and slammed the weapon down as hard as he possibly could. The ground shook and I blinked. Juri was shocked as well and slowly walked forward to make sure that the battle had been finished. I'm glad I couldn't see it because instantly I saw Juri withdraw and mutter, "Eww…" quietly into the microphone. Seconds later she declared, "The winner: Kuwabara!"

The crowd broke out into hushed whispers all around and I watched Yusuke run forward to Kuwabara as he said, "Nice work, Kuwabara! Hey, you ok?"

The look that was given in response to his question was completely devoid of all emotion and I winced saying, "Damn this is gonna be one wicked right hook."

_-Until Next Time-_

_**Kurama:**_** It would seem that our authoress has…temporarily disappeared and I have found evidence that Ghost and Hiei were involved…**

_**Jin:**_** They disappeared, that they did. And the authoress went poof in a gust of wind as well.**

_**Kurama:**_** Indeed. Well, we'll just have to get the rest of the team and go looking for all three of them won't we? I hope you enjoyed the chapter and hope to see you next time.**

_**Jin:**_** Don't forget to drop a review now. It might be needed if those two did anything to the authoress.**

_**Kurama:**_** …yes indeed. A review may be helpful to find those three. Until next time.**


	34. One Hell of a Mass of Muscles

_**Hiei:**_** …**

_**Ghost:**_** …Ahem…**

_**Kurama:**_** Allow me to explain to the readers what has been going on. I called on the rest of the detectives to help me find these two as well as our missing authoress. Unfortunately, the search did not end as well as I would have liked…**

_**Yusuke:**_** These two won't tell us what happened to the authoress. The only reason why we have this chapter is because we found it while looking for them.**

_**Kurama:**_** Indeed. While Kuwabara, Koenma, and Botan are searching for our missing authoress, these two will have to host the chapters themselves until we find her. My plants will be sure of that. (Leaves with Yusuke in tow while his vicious plants snap threateningly at Hiei and Ghost to keep them in place)**

_**Hiei:**_** …what is to happen now?**

_**Ghost:**_** …well…I suppose that we just say the disclaimer…and then start the chapter.**

_**Hiei:**_** It sounds easy enough.**

_**Ghost:**_** The authoress doesn't own anything except her original characters.**

_**Hiei:**_** Chapter Start.**

_-Chapter Start-_

___**Chapter 34: One Hell of a Mass of Muscles**_

The crowd broke out into hushed whispers all around and I watched Yusuke run forward to Kuwabara as he said, "Nice work, Kuwabara! Hey, you ok?"

The look that was given in response to his question was completely devoid of all emotion and I winced saying, "Damn this is gonna be one wicked right hook."

Just as I said it, Kuwabara reared back and laid his fist right into the middle of Yusuke's cheek. The sound of his fist connecting with Yusuke's face echoed around and it made my own face hurt like hell. Damn Kuwabara sure as hell didn't hold anything back that time…although I didn't blame him in the slightest. I couldn't even begin to imagine what he felt like on the inside. Kuwabara cared a lot about Genkai as well, all of us did, but he was the only one who didn't know that she had died. He had to find out by a piece of trash that didn't deserve to even breathe the same air as Genkai. Kuwabara had every right to be angry…hell if it had been me, I would've thrown a fit. I probably would've made a bigger scene than necessary. Kuwabara must've been so angry that he probably couldn't even see straight and yet he still managed to stare at Yusuke, expecting an answer. Everyone remained deadly quiet after Yusuke had been struck and watched intently as the scene began to unfold.

"Why didn't you tell me she was dead? Didja think I couldn't handle it? That I'd panic, lose my nerve…and take off or something?" Kuwabara glared at Yusuke in fury and the detective merely stared back with no emotions on his face. This only angered Kuwabara further and he snatched his friend up by the collar of his shirt as he shouted, "Well?"

"Kuwabara-" Kurama tried to intervene, but the swordsman was beyond himself.

"I didn't ask you!" Kuwabara yelled not looking away from Yusuke at all or releasing him. Hiei and I stood side-by-side as we watched and he seemed almost shocked at Kuwabara's anger. Then again, he was astounded that Kuwabara hadn't figured it out for himself. Which was only further proof that Hiei still had quite a lot to learn when it came to interaction with other people and their emotions.

Kurama, however, remained unfazed by his outburst and continued, "He didn't tell us, either. We just figured it out on our own."

Kuwabara released Yusuke and I could feel some of the tension deflate out of the fighter's chest. That had to be a bit hard to hear. I could see it in his eyes. Kuwabara once again seemed to be the slowest of us all if he couldn't even figure out that his own teammate had been killed. Of course, that wasn't the case at all, but I understood why he thought that. Yusuke looked away from his friend and muttered quietly, "Genkai… she died in my arms. I asked Koenma to…take care of her, then come back and help out. I relied on her, y'know? I know that's no longer possible…but still…I can't believe she's gone," Yusuke paused and I sighed quietly. It was moments like these, when I was willing to bet that the group wished I wasn't there among them. I knew everything and now they all knew it. Since Genkai's death, I'm sure they wondered how many more incidents like this that I would know about, but refuse to tell them about. They all promised that they would never ask, but I was sure that my presence would weigh on them, every moment that I was near them. After all…I would hate knowing there's someone who could tell me something as important as this, but refused to do so, whether it was in my best interest or not. Yusuke took a breath and continued, "I think, and feel, that she'll manage to show up…unless I admit…openly, that she's dead. Then even that vague hope vanishes. That's why I…said nothing. Sorry."

There was silence after he spoke. Kuwabara's anger hit a wall and he didn't know what to do next. So he turned his head and growled in anger saying, "Hmph! Why didn't you just say so?"

"Weren't you listening? That's just what he couldn't do," Kurama said with a small sigh. He was once again ignored and the fighters stood completely still. After a moment, Yusuke began to walk away from Kuwabara and I watched the frizzy haired fighter's face darken slightly. I shivered and glanced away.

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara hissed causing his friend to hesitate and glance over his shoulder. The rest of us merely watched as the two old rivals turned friends shared an unspoken connection and Kuwabara merely said, "Beat him."

Yusuke smiled through his swollen cheek and turned around to make his way into the ring as he answered, "That's my plan."

Yusuke jumped right into the ring and instantly the crowd became silent. It was nearly as deafening as when they were yelling. This unsettled not only me, but Koto as well as she leaned into the microphone and said, "Wow…the crowd's gone deathly quiet! I think…it's the calm before the storm."

Sakyo stepped forward and requested that Toguro allow him to go out ahead of him. This was not met with a verbal answer and he merely walked up the steps into the ring. Kurama and Hiei stared at this calmly and Kuwabara glanced at me in surprise. I merely shook my head and just gestured just to watch the scene fold out. None of the demons in the audience understood what was happening either and Sakyo walked straight up to Juri like this was a normal occurrence, which I'm sure for him, was. Yusuke arched his eyebrow curiously as Sakyo asked Juri if he could borrow her microphone and she handed it over to him, unsure of what was going to happen next. Sakyo calmly brought up the mic and looked out over the spectators as he said, "I'd like to place a wager on this match. I'm confident that Toguro will win. So confident, in fact…I'll stake my life on it."

He gave the crowd a moment for this to sink in and my teammates blinked in shock. I merely crossed my arms as a murmur shot through the crowd and Hiei threw in his own comment, "So, he's just declared the de facto championship match. He said it wouldn't come down to him."

"How unfortunate that he stands to be a man of his word…" I muttered darkly thinking about the end of the match when we would all have to run as fast as we could to get out safely. Not only that but I was further reminded that he would send up a wall completely surrounding the stadium forcing the spectators to watch until the very end. A small fear welled in my chest. Hopefully, my claustrophobia would manage to keep itself in check. I narrowed my eyes on him and wished he hadn't just bet his life on the match. That was when everything was doomed to go downhill from the start. Damn it.

"And to show how much this match is worth overall…the winner will be credited with two wins. I may be team captain, but I know I don't have what it takes to satisfy this crowd. Toguro, on the other hand, is guaranteed to thrill you. I'm pleased to put my life in his hands. Of course, that's if…HQ and the other team's captain agree to this."

Koenma sighed for half a second and then stepped directly in front of us so everyone could see him plain as day. He took control of the situation and replied, "Alright, then! I'll stake my life on Yusuke Urameshi to win."

"Koenma…" Yusuke stated glancing at the prince of the Reikai warily.

"I kinda got you into this mess…so I should assume some risk. But…Sakyo's no idle boaster. He's wagered his life many times before…you can see it in his eyes. The ambitions of such a man can too easily lead to chaos and mass destruction," Koenma explained as he looked at Yusuke calmly. The severity of the situation was not lost on him, or anyone else for that matter. Yusuke's look became a little more serious and the Spirit Prince continued, "You must prevent that. You're the only one who can."

Koto announced that a deal had been made a deal and inquired if HQ would sanction it. Right on cue, the speaker crackled and the same dull voice that we heard before said, "Attention! The committee must confer! There will be a ten minute break!"

"Bullshit…this is more drama than there needs to be," I growled crossing my arms in annoyance. Yusuke removed himself from the ring and they all circled around me. It wasn't long before all of their eyes were on me curiously and I rolled my eyes, "This is just a waiting game that Sakyo wanted to play with the audience. The entire committee is dead. Toguro slaughtered them all. This upcoming fight is going to have no interruptions. No rules and especially, no slack. Yusuke, you're on your own and you're gonna have to give it everything you have. Koenma's right. You're the only person who can win this fight and take Toguro down. Don't you dare think of giving up."

"You make it really hard not to ask you what's going to happen, ya know," Kuwabara sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. Kurama chuckled.

"Indeed, but at the same time, I imagine that if she tried to tell any of us anything that dealt with this, Toguro would do something that would endanger her wellbeing," Kurama stated causing Hiei's hand to twitch slightly. That was a thought that he clearly did not like in the least. My arm, however, continued to hang limply at my side and it was beginning to ache even worse than before. I wondered when it was going to begin healing.

"Don't worry about my wellbeing anymore. So long as I don't threaten the match between the mass of muscles over there and our own muscle head, my wellbeing is pretty much secured," I replied stretching my bad arm across my chest with the help of my good arm. I glanced over at Toguro and Sakyo and even heard snip-its of the conversation. Sakyo was explaining how his depravity started and a shiver shook my spine. I glanced over at Hiei and found that he was staring at me intently.

"_Your arm,"_ he simply said.

"_It's fine. Shouldn't you be more focused with recovering your own energy?"_ I asked looking at him and quickly put up my mental wall. That was when he did something that shocked me; not because I thought he lacked the ability to do so, but until this moment, he never tried. With what seemed like no effort at all, he shattered my barrier and made his presence known once again.

"_I've been far more tolerant with you than I should be. Listen baka onna, unless you plan on being straight with me instead of this running around every time I speak with you, I will stop giving you space and find out what I want to know whether you want me to or not," _Hiei snapped fiercely causing me to step back in shock. It was then that I realized what I had been denying what I felt the entire time…I was scared of the group…I was afraid of getting close to them… only to end up losing them in the time to come. Especially Hiei.

"_Fine. I'll be straight forward with you. I was attacked. They hurt my arm. I killed them and recovered. End of story," _I said turning away from him and hurried to cover my expression so no one would see what I was thinking. Luckily, I became the last thing on everyone's mind when the loudspeakers cackled once again.

"We have a decision!" the voice said and I felt as though ice had been dumped over me. Now the final fight of this damned tournament was going to start. It was almost done. "The proposed terms of the match are approved! The winner of this match will be awarded two victories, and his team declared the tournament champions! Fighters forward!"

Yusuke and Toguro wordlessly moved into the ring and Yuri prepared to start them off. However, we all heard soft chuckling from the hole in the ground where Kuwabara had beat the Elder Toguro down, "Heh heh…heh heh heh…" At that moment he shot out of the ground as a bloody mess and threw his head back as he broke out into maniacal laughter, "Bwa ha ha ha ha!"

"Talk about not knowing when to just lay down and I die," I growled disdainfully as he righted himself and pointed at Yusuke in what I imagine was to be intimidation. In all honesty, it was just comically.

"My brother is unbeatable, Urameshi! Your fate is sealed! He defeated Genkai! Yes, even her!"

Yusuke and Toguro merely looked at the pathetic heap who was speaking while Kuwabara visibly blanched, "Gack! The shrimp-boat! Thought I'd clobbered him!"

"Genkai rejuvenated for the last moments of their battle! But it did her no good! It wasn't enough! And you're not nearly as strong as she was! Genkai was hot when she was young. A real babe. I often wanted to take her for myself. But I didn't. Want to know why? Hee hee…because she was more than I could handle. But she eventually grew decrepit and I no longer cared! She's gone and you'll soon join her!" the annoying little man raged as though what he had to say was actually important. I was thoroughly disgusted.

"How utterly pathetic that he feels the need to speak of the dead with such vulgarity. What a foul good for nothing bottom-feeding lowlife," I hissed through clenched teeth. At that point I no longer care who heard me and it didn't faze me that Kurama gave me a somewhat startled look. Although he seemed to agree with me as well. I just couldn't wait for Toguro to put his brother in his place. Kuwabara on the other hand, wanted to do that himself.

"Lemme at 'im! I'll pound 'im to mush!" Kuwabara flipped out as he balled his fists, just waiting for the chance to make good on his threat.

"Save it, Kuwabara," Kurama stated calmly. We glanced over at him and even though he managed to keep a flat poker-face, I could see fire in his eyes as he continued, "The scum's overstepped his bounds…as those two up there will soon make clear."

Toguro sighed and made his way to his brother who continued to rant, "Come, brother! I'll be your weapon! What would you like? A sword? A spear? Just name it! With you wielding me, we'll be invincible!

Toguro stopped beside him and only said one thing, "Go away."

"Huh?" Elder Toguro and turned to see the figure of his brother merely staring down at him coldly.

"This is my fight," and with that said, Toguro twitched his foot to the side. It was as though Elder Toguro's head was nothing but a hacky sack as his brother kicked him flying straight up into the air. It was somewhat satisfying to see the blood spurt out of his mouth as he flipped in the air.

"Noooo! I'm your brother! We sold our souls together!" he turned in the air and fixed an infuriated glare on his brother as he came down to attack him, "Yet you would do this…to me?"

"So it goes brother," Toguro answered coldly as he brought his arm up. In an instant, he slammed his fist into the middle of his brother's face. The power behind the blow effectively ended his interference as we watched his body disperse and shatter from the force of the blow as it flew through the air. It was absolutely terrifying and yet…a wonder to see such a blatant show of strength. I couldn't imagine how much power was behind his fist to cause such a reaction, let along how much it had to hurt. I blinked at the thought and turned my attention back to Toguro who was now looking at Yusuke like nothing happened, "I never sold my standards. No one else will interfere. This is our fight…one-on-one, start to finish."

This was exactly Yusuke's style, "Oh yeah."

"This is it, tournament fans! A winner-take-all battle royale! Will it be Team Toguro's ultimate triumph? Will Team Urameshi make the grade?" Koto shouted as the crowd thundered in appreciation for the blood fest in store for them.

Juri stepped forward and raised her hand, "For the Championship: Toguro vs. Urameshi! Begin!"

Toguro flexed his already impressive muscles and I could feel his aura intensifying. As it grew he looked over at Yusuke and said, "Let's review. Your attack…the other day…was it fueled by a fit of rage or…?" Toguro trailed off and Yusuke merely stared at him without revealing even the slightest emotion. As if this gave him the answer he wanted, Toguro flexed even more and exclaimed, "I'll fire up to eighty percent!"

His power shot through the roof and instantly crashed against my weak form. It was as if the pressure in the air changed and I could feel something squeezing tightly around my body, threatening to bust my internal organs in the process. Breathing was practically impossible and all I could do was tremble. None of my limbs responded to the frantic messages my brain was sending out and I knew without a doubt, why his oppressive aura began to dissolve some of the spectators on the spot. Pain started throbbing through my temples and for a moment, my sight went black. I could feel my knees giving out beneath me, but a stubborn fire flared to life beneath my breast. As if acting on its own accord, my body stabled itself and flared to life with the little amount of demon energy I had. A thin barrier surrounded my form and slightly relieved the squeezing feeling enough for me to breathe. Meanwhile his aura continued to spiral through the air like a pillar and I watched with wide eyes.

"It's Toguro's aura! The weaker demons can't bear up under it," Hiei realized as a single bead of sweat ran down the side of his face. Kurama grunted from the strain and tried to stabilize himself as I had. It was then I realized that while I was still weak from my encounter with Morte, he was in worse shape than I because of his injuries.

"Not doing so well with it myself. I was really hoping to stay and watch…" Kurama rasped out as the effects weighed down on us once more. My aura flickered and I knew that I wouldn't be able to hold up my own shield much longer. It was at that exact moment, Koenma swooped in like a bad ass and threw his aura around all of us like protectively.

"Stay behind me," he ordered as I felt instant relief. My barrier failed and thankfully I didn't feel like I was going to be squeezed to death anymore. Kurama looked up in surprise at the Reikai Prince as he continued, "I can ward off the worst."

Now that the feeling of being crushed had mostly faded and I was no longer concerned of caving against Toguro's aura, I refocused my attention on Yusuke. Our hero stood by calmly enduring this power-up like it was just a simple summer breeze and didn't move until Toguro made eye contact with him. In seconds he shot forward like a bullet and I was thoroughly impressed that he could move so fast with Toguro's aura weighing against him. As he moved even closer to the mass of muscles, Yusuke drew his hand back and prepared to land one of his trademark punches. Toguro waited until the last possible moment.

Their fists made contact with each other and Yusuke was thrown back like he weighed absolutely nothing. Undeterred, he caught himself with one hand against the ground and pushed himself right back to face his enemy head on. Once again, Yusuke drew back to deliver a blow with his fist, but Toguro simply moved out of dodge. As his opponent fell off to the side with his own momentum, Toguro moved to land his own punch and I was further impressed to see that just as it was about to make contact, Yusuke thrust his leg to kick and effectively sent himself out of harm's way while Toguro's attack crushed the arena ground before it. Some of the stone flew up in the air and I almost laughed. Toguro took the time and trouble to bring over the old ring, only to destroy it himself.

Yusuke's feet barely touched the ground before Toguro retargeted and threw another attack right his way. Nimble as ever, Yusuke quickly got out of the way, but when he landed, Toguro dashed forward with a speed I didn't think possible for someone his size and in seconds he was bearing down on Yusuke. With a quick glance out of the corner of his eye, the fighter realized what section of the stadium he now stood with his back against and who was sitting directly in the path of the upcoming onslaught. To protect our non-combat friends sitting in the stands, Yusuke planted his feet and prepared himself to block the attack that was about to be delivered. Kuwabara panicked, "What're ya doin'? Don't try t' block, ya idiot! Move!"

In that moment, Toguro halted his attack and stood before Yusuke with not even the slightest aggressive motion. Kuwabara was shocked and looked to me in surprise. I wordlessly pointed to the audience behind Yusuke and after taking a look, his eyes focused on the girls. Toguro on the other hand, smiled and said, "Sorry about that. I almost did something patently unfair."

Yusuke smirked, "Heh…I salute your sportsmanship."

Meanwhile, every demon in the audience who hadn't yet been destroyed by Toguro's power boost, sat in their seats breaking out into nervous sweats. The display before their very eyes had to amount to more than they ever expected to see in their lifetimes. Finally, Koto leaned over to the microphone and said, "This is really amazing, folks! The battle's barely started, and already we've seen sparks fly at lightning speed!"

"They're feeling each other out…gauging strengths, potential openings…I _really_ should've taken this one," Hiei muttered to himself as I watched his hand twitch longingly. This raised a chill across the back of my neck. I wasn't one to question Hiei's strength…but that would not be a battle I would want to see. Whether he won or not. The crowd began to chant Toguro's name and I looked about the destruction around us. It almost seemed surreal. The instinct to run for safety flickered through my heart and I felt like a coward. Then again…I knew what was coming next and if any of the souls who actually had courage knew, I had to wonder, how many would stay?

Toguro smiled at his opponent and as he shifted his stance and said, "Hmm…you stand ready, almost eager. Let's see what you've gained from Genkai, then."

Yusuke shifted into a stance where he could start charging his Reigun and Toguro allowed him to charge up, just as Yusuke had done for him. Koto watched this exchange carefully for a moment or so before commenting, "We've gone into a stare-down folks. The tension's incredible! Urameshi's charging up his right hand! Gonna be some major fireworks soon!"

I watched in awe as Yusuke's power grew and I couldn't help but wish I would one day be able to be like him. Sure his power was staggering now, but no one knew, aside from me of course, that he was restrained by a guard Genkai placed on him. His power was still well managed and suppressed. So the aura we were feeling now was small compared to what I knew we would soon be facing. It wasn't long before I sensed his power stop rising and he dashed forward, ready for the next phase of the battle. Focused on what he had planned, Yusuke closed the gap between him and the enemy. As soon as he was within arm's reach, he furious began throwing punches all over Toguro. None of them even fazed the giant and he threw his own punch to stop it. Yusuke darted away quickly, but before getting too far Toguro was there ready to land another blow. Toguro threw one hell of a punch that narrowly missed Yusuke and instead slammed into the ring floor. It was like thunder erupted through the stadium as the force spread through stone and effectively became too much for the ground beneath them to bear. The ring exploded into thousands of pieces and chunks flew all around.

Juri went flying through the air beside us and I watched her smack into the wall separating the spectator seats from the ground of the battle arena. A small sense of glee swelled within me and I then looked through the stones flying through the air in an attempt to spot Yusuke in midair. I found him at the same moment everyone else did and watched him land a direct hit with his Reigun blast. The attack threw Toguro clean off his feet and propelled him through the air, clean out one of the side walls of the stadium. I blinked in shock as I watched the structure crumbled around him and faintly heard Yusuke land on the ground. My senses seemed unusually aware that I could even hear him exhale to calm his energy. I turned to see him glance over at me and then wink reassuringly before turning back to the hole he just blasted Toguro through.

"U-Urameshi got Toguro with a dead-on Reigun Blast! It's by far the most powerful one I've ever seen him unleash! Toguro's been knocked clean out of the arena!" Koto exclaimed in excitement as the crowd flipped out. My teammates began to talk among themselves, but I didn't pay any attention to it. It was idle talk aside from explaining that since Toguro had just decimated the physical ring, there would be no count downs to win. It had to be the last man standing would be declared the winner. Instead, I followed the path that was left from the destruction and through the calming wisps of uprooted dirt I managed to catch sight of the outline of Toguro lying on the ground, not moving. I focused my eyes even more and I could see the tree that had been destroyed beside him. There was a moment of stillness before his hand suddenly tightened around the trunk of a tree. Toguro hauled himself to his feet and began making his way back to the fight.

Aside from some minor bleeding from what I could see two small cuts on his forehead and his torn clothes that couldn't take a physical beating, the only thing that I could see disturbed was the lack of his trademark sunglasses on his face. Other than that, nothing was different as he walked back through the hole which he was blown out and dusted himself off where Yusuke attack made contact. Silence fell around the stadium and he looked at Yusuke almost frustrated as he said, "That's it, is it? That's the best you can do?" He allowed the words a few seconds to sink in before flaring his aura and attacking Yusuke using merely his chi. After making his point he growled, "I'd hoped for more I really did…but even you don't match me at one hundred percent. So I'll stay at eighty percent…and be done with you."

"And the real fight begins," I breathed as Yusuke realized that he couldn't hold back anymore. Not if he wanted to win.

"Yes eighty percent will more than suffice. Prepare to meet your doom," Toguro warned as he prepared himself to finish Yusuke off. Everyone on our side began to panic and lose their cool, well everyone aside from Hiei of course, but Yusuke sighed to himself.

"Guess I gotta make an adjustment," he stated flatly as he began messing with the bands around his wrist. Toguro watched with a small fascination as the wristband came off and the bare skin underneath it began to glow with aura. I noticed Genkai's aura signature surrounding the Aura Lock. Koto immediately jumped on the new development with her "hard hitting commentary" of the fight.

"Urameshi's removing his wrist-bands! And now his bare wrists…are glowing!" she gasped unable to understand what was going on. Everyone blanched as the handcuffs of aura appeared on his wrists connecting together and then his ankles doing the same.

"Aura locks…an exercise of discipline," Toguro noted, realizing why Yusuke wasn't causing any damage to him. Meanwhile the rest of my comrades were realizing that he had been fighting with a handicap this entire time. I was honestly interested with the Aura locks. If I had even a quarter of the strength that the rest of them had, I would at least been interested in giving it a try. To be training without really trying would be interesting. I remembered a point when I was at home when I had gotten so tired of being weaker than my guy friends, which I knew was normal but I had friends that liked to flaunt their strength and such, that I went out and bought three pound wrist weights, a ten pound weight vest, and five pound ankle weights to train in when I walked around the neighborhood. The wrist weights and weight vest had been a great idea…the ankle weights just made my ankles hurt most of the time without doing me any good.

"Ante up," Yusuke said effectively disengaging the locks that were keeping his aura suppressed. Just as Toguro's had done, his aura hit me square in the chest and I felt as though someone had kicked me. I could visibly see his aura whipping around him and shooting through the air. It was strange though, that his aura was not nearly as oppressive as everyone else's. Was it perhaps that because he was a good guy his power was lighter than the rest? Or was it the fact that because he was a human, I was less affected by the oppressive power pressing down on my chest? Nonetheless, it was amazing. I found it an honor to be surrounded by such astounding fighters.

"Urameshi's just revealed a whole new aspect of himself!" Koto gasped, unable to say much else. Tally it up, Koto was almost speechless!

"His power level's off the scale! Toguro's got a fight on his hands now!" Kuwabara shouted as the mass of muscles allowed the smallest smirk to twitch at his lip.

"Were you hoping to beat me…with your aura suppressed?"

"Well…yeah. Bad call, I see," our hero answered in true Yusuke fashion. I shook my head and Toguro smiled somewhat.

"It does rather make us both look like fools. Shall we see where we go from here?" the giant asked as he shifted into a new fighting stance. In response, Yusuke shot forward so fast that I was surprised I could still see him and descended on Toguro before anyone knew what happened. Soon he was pounding punch after punch into Toguro's face and torso. After tenderizing him for a few second, Yusuke delivered on more punch to send him flying back and the second Toguro's back began skidding across the ground, our hero pounced on him once again with a single punch that threw him into the ground with such force that a crater was dug around his body. I winced as another flurry of punches were thrown into Toguro's face and could feel my stomach flipping over at what was coming next. Meanwhile, Kurama and Kuwabara had no idea this was only the beginning.

"He's barraging Toguro giving him no chance to counter!" the kitsune gasped as Kuwabara rose in excitement beside him.

"He's got 'im! Keep it up, Urameshi!"

"Not even close…" I muttered darkly causing their enthusiasm to fade quickly. It was then that Yusuke caught sight of Toguro's dangerous eyes and immediately ceased his onslaught. Leaping away from the fighter, it dawned on Yusuke that the man slowly getting to his feet was far more dangerous than he could ever have imagined. I sensed my friends tense beside me and it was clear that they realized it too. Toguro's eyes would haunt me until the day I died. Never before had I seen such darkness inside of them and the instance in the woods where he forced me to look at him was nothing compared to what I saw now. He was dangerous and all he cared about was getting Yusuke to fight him at one hundred percent. Screw whoever stood in his way, and damned be anyone who tried to stop them.

"It's like peering into a clear sky before a storm rises," Kurama said causing my head to pound a little harder than it was a moment ago. He was right. Even though Toguro had completely deflated from what he was mere seconds ago, he was far from done. I could feel the power within his body stirring and I stepped back in fear, not quite ready to see what was going to come next. As if sensing my terror, Kuwabara placed a hand on my shoulder and I turned to see him forcing a smile. Behind his eyes, he was as scared as I was but he somehow kept it mostly hidden away.

"Don't worry. Urameshi's going to put him in his place, and then we can all go home and relax for once. I'm sure of it," he reassured me, but instead the image of Toguro stabbing his fingers through Kuwabara's chest flashed through my head and I felt even worse than I did before. Out of respect for him though, I nodded and allowed myself to look somewhat calmer. This seemed to make him happy and he turned back to the fight.

Toguro was staring at Yusuke and seemed satisfied when he said three simple words, "One hundred percent."

_-Until Next Time-_

_**Ghost:**_** It would seem that they have still yet to find the authoress.**

_**Hiei:**_** Hn…that witch is far too stubborn. If they don't find her, she'll stumble back her on her own. **

_**Ghost:**_** That is true…I wonder what condition she'll be in by then. (neither notice the shadow appearing behind them)**

_**ME:**_** (revenge gleaming in my eyes) You. Two. Will. Pay… Dearly. **

_**Hiei:**_** Now would be the time to retreat…if only Kurama's plants weren't keeping us here…**

_**Ghost:**_** I have a very, very bad feeling about this. **

_**ME:**_** (addressing the readers) I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I'm really sorry that it took so long to update. I will try to get the next chapter out soon and next time, you all will get to see what happens to these two…until then, see ya later. Heh heh heh…**


	35. Devastating Powers

_**ME:**_** (still stewing from the disappearance from the last two chapters) Hello everyone…**

_**Ghost:**_** I have this sinking feeling that what's going to come our way is not going to be a good experience.**

_**Hiei:**_** (remains quiet)**

_**ME:**_** (begins pacing back and forth like a principle about to decide punishment for two wayward students) Incase anyone's wondering, these two…jackasses decided to drop my ass in the middle of a huge jungle-like place and they didn't leave it there. No they dropped me in a huge lake and left me…I was lucky enough to have Kurama stumble on me while I was running away from what looked like a Spirit Beast gone HORRIBLY wrong…**

_**Hiei:**_** (Smirks)**

_**ME:**_** SO, I've decided that it's time for payback. (walks back with the rest of the Spirit Detectives to stand in a protective glass box. Reaches for microphone and begins to speak over speakers) The perfect way for me to get my revenge is actually simple. Ghost. Hiei. If I were you, I'd prepare to run like hell and the devil himself was at your heels.**

_**Ghost:**_** She can't mean…**

_**Hiei:**_** Fangirls…**

_**ME:**_** You better start running (pushes a button that releases the barrier between readers and muses. A wave of people more than I am able to count flood the place and the two muses are forced to run like they've never run before.)**

_**Yusuke**_**: Damn…that's almost cruel…**

_**ME:**_** It depends on if they let the readers get their hands on them. Anyway, I'll call off the stampede…eventually. So I hope everyone enjoyed the last chapter and that you'll enjoy this one as well. Remember I only own my characters. Chapter start.**

_-Chapter Start-_

_**Chapter 35: Devastating Powers**_

Toguro was staring at Yusuke and seemed satisfied when he said three simple words, "One hundred percent."

His aura shot through the roof and I felt as though someone had taken all the oxygen from the air. It was…horrific. Such a monstrous aura was the farthest thing from human and it was clear in that one moment, before his body reflected his aura, that Toguro's humanity was gone completely. I swallowed and muttered, "My god…what have I gotten myself into being here? This…is terrifying…"

"So you're the adversary I've dreamed of meeting. Thank you, Urameshi…" Toguro said with a truly satisfied look on his face. There was only a moment for us to take a breath before his power erupted to the surface. It was practically blinding and even though Koenma was protecting us from the pure destructive power, I still got knocked on my ass by the sheer force of it all. It was difficult to breathe correctly despite Koenma's barrier and I squinted to see Toguro's now completely inhuman form. It looked as though his skin was made of nothing but muscles and veins. He started convulsing from his own power and he swelled ten times the size of any bodybuilder in our world. Weaker demons were dying from the power surge and we all could see Toguro's body pulsing with power. I faintly wondered if he could overshoot his power then and there to accidentally push his body past its limits…Yeah there was no way in hell it would happen.

Kuwabara reached down to help me back to my feet and he looked over at Yusuke shouting, "Attack 'im now, Urameshi! Your goose is cooked once he reaches one hundred percent!"

"Now why in god's name would he do that? Yusuke wants to see him at full potential because that's how the dimwit rolls," I growled sounding a lot like Genkai. Toguro continued his power up, taking out demons as he went along and those who were strong enough to resist it, watched him reach a level that none of us had ever seen before. I clung to Kuwabara for support as he hauled me to my feet and struggled to regain my own strength as well as sense of balance. Once I had, I took in Toguro's new look. While his skin still looked like his muscles and veins were popping out, it almost seemed like his body turned into some type of armor. It sent chills down my spine just looking at him and more than anything, I just wanted this battle to be over and done with so we could get the hell out of here. The severity of the situation was now descending on all of my teammates.

"Now I know why my sixth sense has been out to lunch. The full force of his aura would fry my brain," Kuwabara grumbled glancing at me. I nodded and he tried to smile reassuringly, "Now I know why it knocked you on your ass, huh?"

"Naw, ya think?" I asked rolling my eyes at him before we both turned to look at the menacing figure Yusuke was now faced with.

"Toguro's finally notched it up to one hundred percent! The sheer force of the transformation alone has vaporized a quarter of the spectators!" Koto announcing considering the fact that Juri was still incapacitated from the earlier trauma of being blown out of the ring. Personally that suited me just fine.

Yusuke prepared himself for the fight that was about to come and Toguro merely held his hands at his sides. I noticed a small surge of energy focus on his balled hand and was quickly released when he flicked his thumb in Yusuke's direction. The energy flew through the air and collided right into the middle of Yusuke's perfectly target-sized forehead. It sent him reeling back a ways and a small flow of blood crept down his face. I shuddered at the headache that had to cause. Meanwhile Toguro smiled and said, "You see what I did? I'll do it a few more times."

True to his word, Toguro began flicking his thumb at Yusuke and sent continuous attacks his way. At first, Yusuke did his best to deflect them, but each blast hit like a ton of bricks and the sheer amount of energy he was expending just to block was incredible. After a few moments of being unable to move, Yusuke jumped out of the path of bullets and threw a wild punch toward Toguro's face. In response, the giant merely brought up his hand and caught Yusuke's fist with the pad of his thumb. Then with the slightest twitch of the muscle in his thumb, he seemed to break Yusuke's arm at the elbow. Our hero was sent flying back across the ground before managing to stop himself. Once he managed to get to his feet, Yusuke prepared his Reigun and started charging it as he growled, "Now it's my turn!"

Toguro merely looked at him completely unfazed, "I suggest you give it all you've got. Go ahead, fire away."

Yusuke charged his gun and when he thought it was strong enough to do some major damage, he released a huge explosion of power while shouting, "You asked for it!"

It was amazing. Such a display of power and light all mixed into one. Yusuke was definitely not one to disappoint when it came to his fights. There was a shockwave that followed his attack and it ruffled through the air, causing my hair to fly in disarray. Yet, this wasn't the only thing that sent power raging through the air. Toguro stared at the attack flying straight toward him and waited for it to get close enough to put on a real show. Then he reared back, taking a breath and destroyed the attack with his own voice. It exploded just feet from his form and I watched in astonishment as he came out without a single mark on him. Then he turned his attention on Yusuke with such danger in his eyes that chills raced down my spine. Good god, what kind of monster had he become? Back home, when I thought of monsters like werewolves, vampires, mutants, and others they were grotesque and without the human resemblance. Toguro on the other hand not only resembled a human, but a creature from one of my worst nightmares. I've already said it before, but there was a true difference in reading it in the manga or seeing it the anime compared to what it looked like in the flesh. Every bulging muscle, strained vein, and hardened patch of skin had a depth and shading that art alone could not do justice too. Although his skin had changed colors, it was a sickly stone looking that still retained some of its human shading. I had never seen such a color before and the more I focused on these minor details, the closer I became to feeling sick. I planted my feet firmly in the ground to keep my weakness in check and threw out a feeble brave façade that anyone could see through if they took the time to look. Toguro stepped through the cloud of Yusuke's failed attack and looked over his opponent.

"Judging from my former experience…as a human you're lacking something…a sense of peril," Toguro disappeared from sight and I could only sense him disrupting the air as he moved to stand directly before Urameshi. He drew back in fist and in one fluid motion, slammed his fist into Yusuke's gut with such force that it sent our hero sailing through the sky to slam into one of the upper ring of spectators. I could smell Yusuke's blood in the air and Toguro almost seemed disappointed as he said, "I think you're still not really aware of how much danger you're in."

"I wish I wasn't…" I muttered quietly and ran my hand through my short hair. At that brief moment, I looked at my friends who had faced these dangers from the get go. Koenma, Kurama, Hiei, and Kuwabara all seemed frozen in place. Koenma was sweating and a bit tense, but true to his word, he stayed just where Yusuke needed him to be, with the rest of us. While the fear was plastered all over Kuwabara's face, as I'm sure it was over mine as well, it was a little more difficult to see on my other two comrade's face. Kurama was skilled at keeping a steely-eyed poker face, but his previous injuries were taking their toll on him and there was the slightest flicker of uncertainty flashing in his eyes. Hiei on the other hand held the perfect composure except for his tightly balled fist and a single sweat-drop that slid down the side of his face. All had completely forgotten about me and were focused on the fight between easily the two strongest people we had ever seen before.

"You don't yet grasp why I went to full power. You've earned the right to fight me at one hundred percent, but that does not mean you have a prayer of winning. This is my moment, not yours. Is that clear?" Toguro stated flatly as he looked up at the spot he threw Yusuke to. The mass of muscle focused only on Yusuke despite him being surrounded by the spectators he was thrown into and continued, "You in turn have an obligation. To fight me with everything you've got. But have you? I've been pondering how we can be sure you've really done your best. Would it take pain, fear of death…sheer rage? I'd be glad to apply them all, if it would help you excel."

With those words, I felt as if I had been frozen in a block of ice. His eyes were so…plain as he explained himself to us all. How in god's name could he be so demonic, when there was a time when he was as human as they came? Did he not have even the slightest scrap of humanity still in his heart? Or had that too been ripped out and disposed of in the pursuit of power? Those eyes…were by far the most haunting pair of eyes I had ever looked into before in my life and it made me feel hollow to know that it had been a human that had sunk so far to become the creature that stood in front of me at that moment.

"H-He's crazy! A battle junkie! He's running on pure instinct!" Kuwabara exclaimed in shock. No, what stood before us was not instinct. He was cold and calculating…pure demonic cruelty was what made up the creature standing before us.

"Instinct? No, my will. This is my deliberate considered goal. Instinct is only about survival. Like this…" all the souls that Toguro had vaporized in his initial transformation came to view once again but this time were being sucked into Toguro's body through his abnormally shaped shoulders. The weaker demons were all dying out and his aura weighed down heavily on every living being in the arena. Toguro smirked somewhat and continued, "This mode does rather give me an appetite. I consume their chi…starting with the weakest. In twenty minutes I'll finish off everyone in this arena. Don't you have friends here cheering you on?"

At that declaration, the demons in the stadium flipped out and began running for the nearest exit. Of course, Sakyo couldn't let all his witnesses to this blatant disregard for life get away and it felt as if an earthquake was shaking the entire island as the walls began to surround the entire stadium. I watched as the demons soon became trapped within the walls and officially felt as through a huge weight was pressing against my chest. Now, the only way of getting out was Yusuke defeating Toguro and us blasting our way to freedom. I was hating the fact that I knew what was coming next more and more.

"Stick around folks, the funs just starting! More fun than you warts deserve, in fact," Sakyo said with a little smile as he held a cigarette in his mouth. It was then that the demons began to freak out and turned on Toguro who they had been cheering on this entire match. What fickle creatures. Without so much as blinking an eye, Toguro turned his attention on them and tore those foolish enough to actually attack him to shreds with his energy attacks.

"Stay out it. This is between me and Urameshi."

Being group in the same sentence as such a monster instantly ruffled Yusuke's being. His anger flared and he jumped through the air with his fist reared back shouting, "Don't bring me down to your level!"

In seconds, Yusuke's knuckles met with the middle of Toguro's forehead. The giant's feet dug into the ground and a small crater was created around them from the sheer force of Yusuke's blow. It astounded me that Toguro could stand against the attack like it was nothing, but what truly freaked me out was that the power Yusuke was throwing behind his fist didn't faze Toguro at all. The punches I had endured from Yusuke were enough to knock me senseless so how in the hell did they do NOTHING to Toguro?

"Sheer rage, then. Same as Genkai," Toguro noted causing his opponents temper to sky rocket at the mere mention of her name. He furiously began punching at Toguro and was doing his damnedest to cause some kind of damage. It didn't last long as Toguro reached out and wrapped his hand tightly around Yusuke's fist. He tightened to the point where we all heard bones cracking as he said, "Still not enough, though."

Yusuke called out in pain from his breaking hand and Toguro silenced him with a slew of his own punches. It was sickening to watch and finally he slammed Yusuke into the ground before stomping his foot down. Blood spurted out of Yusuke's mouth and my hand flew up to my mouth. This was getting to be too difficult for me to watch and I turned away. That is until I sensed Hiei's presence enter my mind, _"Unless you want our more impressionable teammates to fall into despair I suggest you get a hold of yourself and do so quickly. None of us have forgotten that you know how this fight is going to end."_

Instinct took over and without even thinking about it, I steeled my expression and crossed my arms tightly over my chest as I turned my attention back on the fight. It was then that Kuwabara glanced back at me and I gave him a look that could easily be seen as calm with the smallest hint of reassurance. He swallowed and turned back to watch the fight in front of him. I didn't say anything to Hiei, but I knew that he was still focused on me so I bit down on the bottom of my lip and growled, "Come on, Urameshi. You're stronger than this."

"Heh heh…what's the matter? You just going to lie there while everyone gets eaten?" Toguro growled as his power continued to fan out around the arena. Koto made the announcement that she could no longer continue her commentary and I wasn't even able to be glad of it as I watched even more demons around us dying off. They were dropping like flies and I was even more thankful that I was safe within Koenma's barrier. What he said seemed to fuel a little rebellion in Yusuke and he began to push the monster's foot off his chest. Toguro on the other hand still felt the need to provoke him, "In this mode, I throw off all restraint. My sole aim, is to draw out your power…any way I can!" With that he flung an attack into the crowd and destroyed the wall upon impact. Yusuke froze when he realized that the hole was right next to the group of girls who were unable to fight and Toguro merely grinned at him like a bird-fed cat as he purred, "A near miss…that time."

"You'll pay!" Yusuke roared in anger and suddenly shot out from under the mass of muscle's feet. Once his feet touched the ground, he shot forward like a bullet right out of a gun and threw a punch strong enough to turn Toguro's face the other way. Yet just as he prepared to continue, Toguro turned to look at him and backhanded him through the air to crash into the wall at the base of the spectators. He rested in a jumble of rubble and looked at Toguro in fury. It was beginning to dawn on him that as he was, he wouldn't be able to fight Toguro and the blood pouring out of his body caused shivers to race down my spine. Meanwhile, Toguro continued to chastise his opponent.

"Not quite…not quite enough, my friend. You can't prove yourself by rage alone," Toguro "tsk-ed" as he advanced on Yusuke who could only sit there, bleeding. I faintly heard flapping register through the air and looked up to see Puu flying down on the scene. The color drained out of my face and I sucked in a sharp breath. I couldn't believe it had gotten to that point so quickly! Surely there had to be more time before then! But of course there wasn't and soon, the little blue creature became the focus of all our attention.

"Don't mind me boys," Genkai's voice echoed out of Puu's mouth once she was sure that all of us were staring at the creature. I found myself unable to speak and was frozen, knowing what was coming next and wishing there was some way that I could just get the hell out of the stadium. While it was true they all knew and had come to terms with the fact that I knew what would become of their future, I still felt deep in my heart, that they would hold a grudge against me for not telling them. I didn't get to stew in my feelings long however, as Genkai continued, "Toguro, you want to draw out Yusuke's full potential correct? There's one way that can't miss…and it'll save some time, too…Kill one of his friends."

The weight of her words hit us all like a runaway train. My friends' postures became rigid and tense while they quickly comprehended what she meant. It was Yusuke who recovered first to say something, "Wh-What are you saying?"

"Like a hesitant thorough-bred he needs someone to apply the whip. And that means snuffing out the life of someone he cares about," Genkai stated flatly causing my heart to pound in my chest. The way she said it was so cold. Did she know that Toguro wouldn't actually kill one of us and merely make it seem like he had? Or did she really believe that death would be the only way to unlock his power? How could she talk about one of her own dimwits getting killed like it was nothing to her if she knew our lives were in actual danger? Yusuke growled at his old teacher and she merely stared at him like it didn't faze her in the slightest, "As it stands, everyone here is going to die. If one dies now, the rest have some hope of seeing tomorrow."

"Is that right? How can you be so cold-blooded? No amount of power is worth that price! Nothing is!" Yusuke flipped out as he reached out to grab Puu. Before he got much farther, Genkai slapped Yusuke's head down with one of Puu's floppy ears. He whipped his head up to stare at her defiantly and she returned his look with an emotionless one of her own.

"This is the world you're in, like it or not. You think your feeble complaints matter here? It's not your choice anyway," she said causing a dead silence to follow her words. Toguro chuckled beneath his breath and flicked his fingers at both of them. Yusuke and Puu were sent flying through the air and Toguro thus turned his attention to our little group on the sidelines.

"That's right. I'd considered doing it…as a last resort. Since it appears you have little control over your power, my course is clear," Toguro said staring us down and despite Yusuke's weak protests I watched him hone his sights on Kuwabara. He raised his hand and said, "You get to die."

I could literally feel the life flow out of Kuwabara and his breathing picked up. It was terrifying. Of course, I knew that he was supposed to make it through this, but just as my being there caused small changes within the story, I was terrified that it may cause a bigger rift, such as a choice between Genkai's revival or Kuwabara's. I could only hope I was wrong. So, I swallowed my fear and set my face muttering, "Here it goes."

"Your death will ensure Urameshi gives his all. And don't think I won't appreciate it."

"Toguro! Don't do it!" Yusuke ran over to his opponent and frantically began pummeling him with everything he had left, which in all honesty wasn't much at all. Toguro wasn't even bothered by it until Yusuke became annoying like a nat. So he backslapped him away which tore him up even more, but our hero was not one to stay down. He jumped back on his feet and took off like a bat outta hell and tried to pick up right where he left off, but Toguro was on a mission. He punched Yusuke away once more and I watched blood pour out of his mouth while he tried to right himself once more. Kuwabara glanced at Yusuke and then back at me. Sweat was pouring down his face and I sensed him trying to speak with me. I opened a telepathic channel, _"This has to happen?"_

"_Yes…"_ I answered quietly and placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned back to look at Yusuke and I removed my hand, knowing he could still feel the reassurance I was trying to give him. I know that he didn't understand what it meant, but I hoped he'd know that he would make it through and everything would turn out ok in the end.

"The four of us have to step in, Hiei. Toguro's flipped. Demanding his level of power from Yusuke," Kurama stated causing me to pause for a moment. He said four…which of course included me…Well…either I helped them or would be considered a traitor in their time of need…I sincerely hoped Kuwabara would be the hero and run in head first as he always would. That way things would just go the way they're supposed to and I wouldn't have to worry…well worry more than I already was.

"What'll you use? You're tapped out," Hiei sighed almost as though this were to be expected.

"So are you. Would rather bug out?" Kurama asked playing on his comrade's pride.

"Not on your life. He'll get whatever we've got," Hiei replied posed for battle. Just then Toguro threw his fist into the middle of Yusuke's gut. Another mouthful of blood hit the ground and I seriously winced as he struggled to push himself up. There was such desperation in his eyes to keep his friend from being killed right before his very eyes and I did my best to keep my face as emotionless as I could. I just focused on the one thought that would console me. Kuwabara would live. That was all I needed to focus on.

"You're pathetic, Urameshi," Toguro growled causing Yusuke to flip out. He shouted in fury as he reared back ready to fire another shot when he noticed Toguro had disappeared. Without any warning, the giant appeared behind Yusuke with his hand on his shoulder as he said, "You've got nothing."

He slammed Yusuke into the ground so fiercely that he left a crater around his body and turned to advance on us. While Kurama and Hiei braced themselves for the possible altercation, I watched Kuwabara resolve himself to what he must do. Suddenly, his shoulder relaxed some and the sweat stopped appearing on his brow. I could literally see the chance of personality on his face and I knew, he was stronger than I could ever hope to be. Hiei tensed and said, "Here he comes!"

"Wait! Leave this to me!" Kuwabara commanded as he stepped directly in front of us. Hiei nearly swallowed his own tongue from shock and Kurama couldn't believe his own ears.

"Are you out of your mind? You? Alone? That's suicide!" Kurama flipped losing his composure for a moment. Then Kuwabara looked back at us and continued as he fixed his attention mostly on Koenma, "Koenma…you've be your life on Urameshi. I'll do the same…for what it's worth. Admit defeat? Never!" The loveable lug jumped forward and shouted Yusuke's last name to get his attention. Toguro waited until he was sure that Kuwabara had everyone's undivided attention and then appeared directly before him with his hand directly over Kuwabara's chest where his heart would be. There was a sickening sound as he stabbed his fingers into Kuwabara's flesh and the smell of blood reached my nose again. No matter how many times I smelled it, it still made me sick. Before his dramatic fall, Kuwabara lifted his head and pointed at Yusuke with his strength clearly fading, "I sure as heck…hope you…got enough…to make this worth my while…"

Then he fell and while Kurama, Hiei, and Koenma all ran to his side, hoping that he would still be alive and kicking, I stood there and turned my head to stare at the wall along the side of the stadium. For fear of crying and for fear of bringing this tragic and painful ruse to light, I made sure that no one could see what was going on in my eyes or touch my conscious mind. There was a wall I quickly pulled together around my thoughts and focused all of my power on reinforcing it so no one would be able to break through. I faintly heard Yusuke fall to all fours on the ground and set my jaw in place. I could still sense Kuwabara's beating heart, and knew thankfully nothing had changed. It was the same. I could breathe and once Yusuke got to his feet, I returned my attention back to the fight, with my eyes steeled over in a façade that would only push Yusuke further down his path. I hadn't heard Toguro threaten our lives, but I certainly sensed Yusuke power flowing out in his despair.

"I am pathetic…I couldn't stop…one friends death," Yusuke muttered as his aura hit me like a ton of bricks. It was astounding how powerful he had become since his training with Genkai and even Toguro shuddered slightly at the power his enemy was emanating. Yusuke's eyes looked dead as he lifted his head and continued, "It's my fault. I'll never…be able to forgive myself."

Toguro looked over his opponent and stated coolly, "Now…nothing stands in his way."

"My god…this is so much power…it's almost like its smothering me," I muttered quietly. For some reason beyond my understanding, I was far more susceptible to everyone's auras. Yes it was true that Kuwabara and Shizuru had extremely sensitive sixth senses, but it was different for me. The auras all around me, felt as though they were weighing down on my chest and trying to snuff out my own aura. It was like the very essence of this world knew I didn't belong and was rejecting me…the thought alone disturbed me. Yet, I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of Toguro charging forward to loom over Yusuke.

"You should be grateful, Urameshi! Your power is now approaching a level that matches mine! You've become like me!" Toguro laughed in excitement. Anger flared within me. No! Yusuke would never end up like that pathetic excuse for a life. I could never see him turn to such a cowardly choice. No, Yusuke would fight to gain that much power all on his own and he would thrash anyone who dared harm his friends…I just hoped he didn't get tired of me by then.

"I've become…like you? No…NO!" Yusuke began to flip out as Toguro descended.

"How can you deny it?" he roared as he slammed a furious fist into Yusuke's face. I winced as he was sent skidding across the ground and sent rocks flying through the air. Of course, this was nothing for him and his enemy knew it, "Come on, I know that barely scratched you! My punches are just as devastating as before and seconds ago that would've atomized you! But you're well able to withstand such blows now! That's power, little buddy! Real power!"

Yusuke pushed himself to his feet and stared at the ground, practically heartbroken, "…You're right…that wasn't too bad…"

"Does your soul ache with loss? Heh heh…Don't worry, it's like the measles – you'll gain resistance! You stand there as if you're helpless! You're not! You've gotten stronger! Isn't that what you want? Of course it is! You want to be like me, no matter what it takes!" Toguro laughed sounding more deranged than I ever remember him sounding like. He was insane…just like every other demon we had fought up to this point. He had gone mad with the power and was completely unlike my own teammates who seemed to be humbled by their own power. He focused on Yusuke once more with his flashing eyes and continued, "Now is your moment! You must believe that power is everything!"

"…I'm not like you…" Yusuke muttered quietly as he balled his fist. However, it wasn't anger that I saw in his eyes when he looked at Toguro. It was sadness and the feeling of not knowing where to go to next. His eyes flickered and I felt guilt weigh on my chest. At least, when this was over, Yusuke would be happily surprised to know that he hadn't lost anyone again. Urameshi looked and said, "I could never abandon my humanity. I've come this far because of those who've stood by me…even when I threw them away because they did something I couldn't understand."

I froze…that last bit of Yusuke's speech had been directed at me…I looked up in shock and realized that…I had been completely forgiven…Could he tell that I still had doubts? Or was this his way of saying, that he didn't blame me for Kuwabara's death? That though he was destroyed by his friend's passing, he was coherent enough not to lash out against me. My knowledge of what was going to happen was not my fault…my god. Warmth spread through my chest…I belonged.

"What mush! Pure emotional claptrap! Don't you see? You can stand on your own, now!" Toguro growled and then his eyes grew even darker, as he glanced over at me. No one but me noticed this, and I felt fear rise. I frantically threw my hands together in front of me and focused on creating a shield. I didn't know what was coming next, but something told me that for some reason, I was a target. Confirming my suspicion, Toguro turned on my and flicked his thumb and middle finger in my direction saying, "Allow me to show you how little these "friends" can do for you!"

Using my right hand, the bad one, to steady the flow of power, I firmly gripped my wrist with the left hand and threw up a force field. I hoped with everything that I had that it would be enough to keep most of the attack at bay, and I would walk away with a few deep gashes and that was it. I couldn't have been more wrong. As soon as his power connected with my shield, the sound of shattering glass erupted through the air and there was so much pain in my chest that my vision went white. My limp body was sent spinning, twisting, and summersaulting backward until it connected with the stone wall behind me. It shattered beneath me and I was faintly aware of some rubble strewn under my body causing me to lie in an extremely uncomfortable position, but there was nothing I could do. It was like my brain had been disconnected to the rest of my body. The dust began to bother my eyes, so I closed them and struggled to breathe. Yeah it hurt like hell, but at the same time it was more like a distant ache. Like something had cushioned the blow, but I couldn't put my finger on what. Instead, I began running over the things that I could be sure of. It seemed as though there had been a hall behind the wall he had thrown me into and my knees seemed to rest of the rubble just outside of the hole my body had caused. Slowly, but surely, the feeling was coming back to me and I opened my eyes again. The dust had settled and I was staring at my right hand strewn on the ground beside me.

My own jaw dropped. The wrap I had put around it was falling apart and looked like most of it had been singed by flames. The grey stone color had disappeared and for once, it looked normal…aside from the burns and some slash marks along the sides of it. My blood was oozing from the gashes and it was difficult for me to move any other part of my body. Aside from the sheer force of the blow, there was something else at play for why I couldn't move.

"What was the point of that, Toguro? Why attack her?" I heard Yusuke call out and tried to focus my mind once again. I knew that for the moment, the storyline had been delayed, but why the hell had Toguro attacked me? What was the point and was there a purpose behind it? All the while my mind was racing, I began doing small movements to regain control over my body. I wiggled my foot and twitched my hands, slowly reviving the sensations in my entire body.

"Truthfully, I've wanted strike out at her since I found out about her special…talent. After all, she does not seem to be bound by the same rules as we do and I'm sure you noticed it as well but she has a…unique aura. You can't tell me you haven't noticed it! She's surrounded by a strange power that seems to protect her at times, and then leave her vulnerable at others!" Toguro laughed causing an alarm to sound in my mind. The Yin-Yang Eye…whatever its true intention is…that was what he was speaking of. The thing that would protect me one moment and then take complete control the next. He could sense the connection, but how?

"He means the Yin-Yang Eye…but how could he know about that," I heard Koenma muttered quietly. My mind began to clear and I quickly focused on my teammates, but more specifically, Yusuke's mind.

"_I'm…alright, Yusuke…don't worry about me…For some reason it wasn't as bad as it looked…"_ I grunted quietly as I slowly lifted my head a few inches off the ground and felt my body come to life again. It hurt like hell, but at least I could breathe normally again. Apparently the shock from it all was beginning to wear off and I slowly lifted myself off the ground. Shaking my head warily, I glanced around to see a strange hall that didn't seem to match the layout of the stadium. When I moved to sit up, a rib popped out of place and I doubled over to spit out a small mouthful of blood. The Yin-Yang Eye may have prevented the brunt of the attack, but it still did a number on me. It also didn't help that the air felt like it was trying to suck my soul right out of my body. I needed to get back within Koenma's barrier and I needed to do so fast. I bit down on the corner of my mouth and in one fluid threw myself to my feet and used the side of the hole for stability. I stepped over the hole, but didn't get far. My knees buckled beneath me and I hit the ground just outside of the rubble. My right arm was completely useless, but for some reason, there wasn't a lot of pain in my body…I was just very, very tired.

At that moment a body appeared beside me and swept me into their arms and in a quickly flurried movement, I was replaced within Koenma's shield. The air became lighter and I felt like I could breathe again. When I was gently placed on the ground, I looked to see not Hiei who was stepping back from me, but Ghost! I blinked in shock and he dismissed my surprise with a simple statement, "After that…creature attacked Kuwabara, I knew he wouldn't stop there. I was doing my best to get down here through the chaos and all these demons, but it proved somewhat problematic. I apologize for the late entrance."

"Th-thank you," I muttered still somewhat surprised. I glanced over to see he had set me beside Kurama who was still supporting Kuwabara's "dead" body and I noticed that the frizzy-haired lug couldn't stop the smallest smirk from appearing on his face. Thankfully, it was missed by everyone else. He had seen everything and I wondered how much discipline it took for him to stay down when I was flipping through the air.

"Don't worry about it…Though I find it interesting that he destroyed not only my Yokai-stone in your arm, but he also cleared out the shadows within it as well. If I didn't know better, it's almost like he purified your arm…I wonder if such was his intent," Ghost mentioned looking over at the hulking mass before us. This thought rang a bell and I realized that I could no longer feel the dark creatures coursing through the veins in my arm…That was rather strange. I looked over at Toguro and couldn't help but wonder, was he actually trying to get rid of that…or just testing the power of the Yin-Yang Eye that seemed to protect my life. I look over to Hiei who seemed to be looking me over intently and after reassuring himself that I was alright, looked back to the fighters.

"Come now Urameshi! That didn't even get a true rise out of you! Heh…heh…heh… perhaps another spur…or…should I kill all of them?" once again Toguro turned his attention to our little group. Tension shot through us, but it was Yusuke who disappeared and then reappeared at his side with his hand tightly gripping Toguro's wrist. The mass of muscles looked at him coldly and said, "Let go."

"Somewhere deep inside…I admired you. Your power really frightened me…but it also drew me in…with a desire I didn't understand. Yes, I did want it! Craved it! Genkai tried to warn me…but I didn't get it. I do now though. I realize what you threw away. I won't do that! Friends, soul, humanity…I'll defend them to my last breath!" Yusuke said as his power surged out around him once again. I watched it flare around and could literally see his confidence, his determination to stand between Toguro and harming any of his friends ever again. I felt…proud to know Yusuke. Proud to see him stand against such power and defy the darkness that tried to pull him down.

"So you are Genkai's student after all. Which means you're no better," Toguro stated flatly continuing to doubt the path his old friend had taken. It still amazed me how such doubt would come back to bite him in the ass. Then again, doubting Yusuke was a huge mistake in itself.

"You won't kill again! I won't allow it! I'll take you down first!" Yusuke asserted as his eyes hardened and turned cold. Nothing would stand in his way.

"Heh…is that so?" Toguro asked and just as he turned his head to look at his opponent, Yusuke landed one hell of a devastating sucker punch to his face. His head practically twisted all the way around as he was sent back-bending into the ground and summersaulted into the ground with a thud. The momentum dug and skidded him further across the ground and the mere sound of Yusuke's fist connecting with his face still echoed through the air, but his statement wasn't done there. No, Yusuke drew back and fired one hell of a Reigun Blast just above Toguro's twisted and ugly head. The blast was so huge the it rumbled through the entire stadium and could easily be seen as it flew away from the island over the ocean water. Nothing but rubble was left in its wake and Yusuke lowered his hands calmly.

"I have one last shot. I'll put everything I have into it. I invite you to use all the power you purchased with the price of your soul. I have one aim – your total obliteration…and I will achieve it!" Yusuke commanded as he pointed at Toguro warningly. He took his normal badass stance and anxiety flowed through me. This was nearly the end of the battle and soon, we would be able to head home and relax…at least until the next war that started itself.

Toguro slowly got to his feet and with one hand cracked his neck back into place. He returned Yusuke's stare and said, "I like that look…I've seen it in the eyes of many challengers who died by my hands. Whatever their real strength, I honored them with my full power. You, however, have enabled me to raise my own threshold! Come!"

"Full out, no holds barred…this is gonna be some kickass fireworks," I stated simply as I sensed Yusuke and Toguro's auras flare to life. This was the last exertion and nothing would really be left after it.

Toguro charged up and his body bulged to the point where it seemed as though it would explode if someone poked him with a sharp utensil. Strange almost wing-like structures stood out from the sides of his head and it was like he was becoming armor instead of a living creature. He looked at Yusuke and called out, "This is it: one hundred percent out of one hundred percent!"

"Well…there's no doubt in my mind now…that thing is the farthest from human I ever thought imaginable," Ghost stated and I nodded in agreement. No matter if he did in fact intend to purify my arm or not, nothing could turn Toguro back into the human he once was. Although, I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt, he just wanted it all to be put to an end.

"To be the best at something, you can care about nothing else! You'll never be able to do that, so you will fail!" Toguro roared as he waited for the final confrontation.

"Did you stop caring…or just make yourself forget?" Yusuke inquired as he started pulling all the power he had into his Reigun. The air was distorted by the power of the two fighters and I watched as Yusuke's rose to an even higher level than Toguro's. It was astounding and even though I was sure I was the only one that could see the visible shape of the aura, everyone else could sense it.

"He's…using his life energy!" Kurama noted in shock.

"Yusuke!" Koenma called out in concern for the Underworld Detective. Of course, Yusuke didn't hear any of us. He was more focused on Toguro who was attempting to attack him from the front.

"Eat this!" he shouted as Yusuke fired off his blast. Toguro did his damnedest to stop and grab the attack. He succeeded in holding the blast in his hands but was steadily pushed back across the ground no matter how hard he tried to plant his feet. Yusuke threw his life energy, his spirit energy, and everything else he had into the blast and it officially was the final attack he would be able to make in this battle.

"Make-or-break time!" Kurama exclaimed as he watched Toguro's struggle.

"For Yusuke anyway," Hiei stated as said fighter hit his knees and began to fall over to the ground, "…'cause it's all he's got!"

Toguro's muscled reached their breaking point as he tried to maintain control and his thunderous roar could be heard all around the stadium. Finally he brought his arms over his body in front of him and dispersed the blast all together. Against all odds, Toguro straightened up shakily on his feet while Yusuke hit the ground full force. For a moment it seemed like our team had lost and thus, everyone was doomed to death. That is, until the sound of snapping echoed through the air.

"Thank you, Urameshi…for pushing me past my limit…" Toguro muttered quietly as gashes suddenly appeared all over his body. His muscled popped and exploded as blood spurt from the wounds and the huge armor-like structure around his body began dispersing before our very eyes. It was like watching his muscle and skin being ripped apart in front of my very eyes as he muttered with fading eyes, "Guess it's…the strain…of going beyond one hundred percent.."

The monster then hit the ground like a ton of bricks and it was quiet. Koenma lowered his shield and I gently coaxed my body to my feet to look around. Everyone was in disbelief and the two female announcers, Juri and Koto, made their way over to the combatants. At first they examined Toguro before Juri noticed something just behind Koto. She gasped in surprise and Koto spun around to see Yusuke up on his feet with sweat pouring down his face. His exhaustion was plain on his face and he was only seconds from falling over once again. So Koto and Juri threw their hands in the air as they called into their microphones, "The winner: Urameshi!"

Kurama, Koenma, and Hiei all rushed over to Yusuke as he was about to fall while I stayed put and watched from the sidelines. Kurama managed to catch Yusuke before he hit the ground again and said, "Yusuke! It's okay! It's over! You did it, you beat him! You're the champ!"

"…Am I…still alive…?" Yusuke muttered distractedly.

"Take it from me, you are! That last shot…incredible!" Koenma praised as relief spread across his face. At his response, Yusuke dug his fist into the ground.

"Aw man…this…this really sucks!" he cried out in utter frustration causing all his comrades to look at him seriously. Yusuke was on the verge of tear as he continued, "I should've been able to do this without Kuwabara's sacrifice! So what's this worth? Nothing!"

"Yusuke," Kurama tried to explain, but the detective continued his emotional rant.

"I was right here…and I couldn't save him!" Yusuke shouted and leaned over with his head touching the ground. At that moment Kuwabara was up on his feet and trying to get Yusuke's attention. It took all of three seconds for him to stop his despair and look up to the see the frizzy-haired lug acting like a dork in front of him.

"The thing is, Yusuke…Kuwabara never died," Kurama stated calmly as Yusuke made the weirdest shocked fast I had ever seen in my life. I laughed as he turned on Kurama and was seconds from flipping out. The red-haired kitsune sweat-dropped and said, "Now, calm down and listen to me."

While he explained to Yusuke what happened, I took the moment to look back at the hall I had been thrown into by Toguro's vicious attack. Since no one was really paying any attention to me, which actually suited me just fine, I limped over to where the hole and peered inside. The hall itself wasn't interesting enough. It seemed just like any other hall and the only surprising thing was that it looked like it dipped down to a staircase. At first, I had no interest in seeing where it lead to, considering I knew what would soon be happening to the entire stadium in only a matter of minutes, but a glimpse of something shining just down the hall caught my eye. Once I got a good look at it, my hand shot to my pocket and upon finding it empty, I nearly freaked. The black jewel must've flew out of my pocket from the force of the impact and rolled across the ground as the rubble came crashing down. I was lucky that it hadn't been crushed at all. Knowing this was my only chance, I stumbled into the hall and quickly swept the jewel up in my hand. I was lucky that it hadn't been destroyed and quickly pushed it into my pocket, praying nothing like that would happen again. It may not even be what I thought it was, but that little jewel meant so much to me…and I couldn't even explain why.

Of course it didn't matter as soon as the ground started shaking violently. I smacked into the wall and hit the ground with such a dull thud that it almost sounded comically. Rubble began caving in on the stadium and just as I turned to escape the hall I had ventured into, a very large piece of rubble fell and landed in the most effective way to completely seal off the entrance my body had made in the hall. For a minute, I sat there in disbelief with my tongue in my cheek and contemplated how fricking unlucky could one dumb female be…Was this fates way of telling me that from now on before taking action it would be wiser to, perhaps think it out first?

I didn't have much more time to think about the stupidity of my decision as the earthquakes got worse and I knew my time to get the hell out of dodge was limited. Sure that no one would notice my disappearance until they were out of harm's way, I pushed myself to my feet despite the violent shaking and started running down the hall as fast as my legs could take me. There was no guarantee it would take me out of the stadium or get me out before it self-destructed, but I had little choice by that point. So I just kept running and hoping that for once, things would go my way. It was difficult to see with the lights in the hall flickering on and off, not giving my eyes a chance to adapt to one or the other and it was only a matter of time before I tripped. Yet, I couldn't just trip, get up and dust it off. No that would be far too normal for me. Instead I tripped in fantastic fashion and flipped head over feet to smack into the ground, but the fun didn't stop there. Apparently I must've stumbled into a dumping tunnel of sorts as the ground suddenly became slick and went down at an angle. It was like one of the tube slides at the water parks and I slid down into darkness with no way to stop myself. There were quite a few bumps along the way and of course, I screamed the entire way down. At some point it veered off to the right side and I could only imagine that now, I was at least away from the collapsing stadium. This whole ordeal lasted at least seven long, terrifying minutes until finally I was spit into the sunlight. It was like being launched off a ramp and I closed my eyes, not ready for what was coming next. That was when I hit water.

It was disorienting to say the least, but when I finally righted myself and broke the surface, I found myself once again treading water just along the side of the island. Above me was a large cliff and that weird little tunnel was covered by a waterfall so no one could see it. Now that I thought about it…that was in the perfect position to throw away dead bodies of demons…ew… With that thought in mind, I quickly began swimming to the beach. Once I had, I focused on using the small control of water I had to draw out the wet from my clothes and hair. Once that was accomplished, right on cue, I sensed Hiei's presence enter my mind.

"_Where did you disappear to baka onna. The humans are throwing a fit," _Hiei growled in annoyance.

"_I slipped out a different way after getting separated from you guys. I'm perfectly fine and I'll meet up with you at the apartments, ok?"_ I laughed apologetically. He "hn-ed" in response and I quickly sensed for the auras. While I did so, my hand wandered to my pocket and found the jewel I had risked my well-being once again to secure. A small smile came to my face and I wondered what the group would've thought if they had known I risked my safety for this small little thing. Once I figured out where the hell I was, I hobbled off in the direction of the apartments, feeling the strain of running slam into my body and hurt.

_-Sometime Later-_

I collapsed on my bed, somewhat surprised that I had made it back before the rest of the group had. It was strange that I had made it in record time, but then again, I had a bit of a head start on leaving the stadium in the first place. Once I had gotten to my room, I rewrapped my arm and did my best to tidy myself up with my hurting rib. I was still not sure what happened to it, but it was already beginning to feel somewhat better so just a little bit of rest would fix everything. I was beginning to nod off to sleep when I heard the group enter the room. Yusuke's voice called out, "You in here, Rin?"

"Yeah I'm in my room. Be out in a minute," I called as I slowly got to my feet. I limped over to the door, but as soon as I opened the door I was once again attacked by a blue fluff ball. This time, however, I did not scream and caught him with my good arm saying, "Well, I guess I had that coming for disappearing on you guys. Sorry about that. I went to investigate that little place Toguro threw me into and when the stadium started to collapse I got trapped there. So it turned out to be some weird little tunnel that threw me out onto a beach."

"Why do you always end up getting yourself into some weird kind of trouble?" Yusuke laughed shaking his head and I smiled in reply.

"I dunno, just lucky I guess," I chuckled but stopped when Yukina appeared at his side and focused on my right arm hanging uselessly by my side. There was nothing but concern in her eyes and I knew what she was thinking.

"Please let me look at your arm, Rin. I think I may be able to help," Yukina said leaning close to me. Suddenly, I was afraid of letting her close to the injury and I stepped back a foot with my hand hidden behind my back. Especially since I had managed to take some of the pain from Hiei…what if she tried to heal and it would reverse negatively on her?

"It's ok! Mostly, it's already healed anyway…" I smiled and looked over them feeling…lighter. After that entire ordeal, we made it out a little worse for wear and a certain someone would show back up just as we were about to leave. Things, for the moment, were going to be alright…or so I thought.

"Ahem," Koenma cleared his throat officially and my heart dropped. I flashed back to the first interrogation I had endured. At that point, Koenma had made in painfully clear that in the event he found out that I had lied to him in anyway or that more information about my situation came to light, he would have to act accordingly and do what needed to be done to preserve the balance of the world. I wholeheartedly agreed with him at the time. Now he was aware that not only was I from a different reality, but was the key to some strange power known as the Yin-Yang Eye…what in god's name did he have planned for me now? He looked at me seriously and continued, "Rin, you and I have some things we must discuss relating to the security of not only the Reikai, but the Ningenkai as well."

"That doesn't surprise me. When and where?" I stated extending Puu out to Keiko who looked shocked as she took him in her arms. Fearing that this would be one of the last times I might be around them, I couldn't bring myself to look at any of them. I didn't want to see the looks on their faces or the thoughts behind their eyes.

"Sooner will be better than later," was the simple response.

"I think now would be the perfect time for a walk, hm?" I suggested as I gently moved past the group and headed for the door. I heard Koenma fall into step behind me and when I heard Botan move, he raised his hand to stop her.

"Botan, I think it would be best if you would keep this group of trouble. After all, I wouldn't want to come back a see a fight breaking out in this place. Who knows if anyone could really handle it," Koenma said as we both walked out the door. Just before Koenma closed it behind us however, Yusuke was standing there holding it open.

"See you soon, Rin," he said simply but was staring at the Reikai Prince when he said it.

"See you soon," I responded with a smile and continued my way down the hall to the elevator. The prince was close on my heels and we didn't speak until the elevator doors closed and we were effectively alone.

"You would've thought I was taking you off the slaughter," he muttered running his hand over his face.

"Can you blame them? What little was said during my fight with Morte was still enough to know that somehow, someway, I landed myself in a huge shithole. The last time you interrogated me I disappeared for two days. Now something like this? They're thinking you'll make me disappear clean off the map," I said in a matter-of-fact fashion.

"As soon as the Yin-Yang Eye was mentioned, I should have…but that serves little purpose now…Is Hiei watching us?" Koenma replied in monotone. Despite my heart falling and the icy feeling creeping through my veins, I closed my eyes and sensed for the Jagan-user's presence. Either he didn't hide from me quick enough, or he didn't give a damn if we knew he was watching because his aura was clear as day focused on us.

"Of course," I responded.

"Very well. Botan will keep them occupied and we'll head into a denser part of the woods for this," Koenma stated as the doors opened. We slipped out of the building with no one noticing us and did not speak again until we walked quite a ways away from the group and anyone who might overhear us. When Koenma stopped, my throat swelled and instantly I felt very, very sick. The Prince of the Reikai turned and looked over me seriously. Then his inquisition began, "Do you know anything about the Yin-Yang Eye?"

"Only what Morte said in the fighting ring."

"How long have you been aware that there's been another…_presence_ within you?"

I bit my tongue. "Since the beginning of my time in this realm."

"Are you any different from the people you associate yourself with in your reality? Your friends? Family?"

It was hard not to laugh. Not anymore different than everyone else! There were plenty of people who were the odd ones in the family. In fact, I always joked that my family was made of black sheep and speckled with a few white ones here and there. In such scenario, my mother and I were about the only "normal" ones there. When I thought about it though, it was difficult for me to connect with people for any extended length of time… I would hit it off with a number of people. Best friends, close family, and even friends of the family, but after a while…it became taxing. I found that staying close to someone for more than a span of four years, it became difficult for me to deal with. Either I would purposely start something to make them break away or I would somehow end up losing the relationship…Like I was stopping a possible disaster before it started. I focused on Koenma and contemplated how much of this I wanted him to know…by no means did I want them in my mind, it bothered me when Hiei forced his way in. So I took a breath and said, "I don't know about different, but I like my space."

"Did you ever feel like you have a power over them that none of them could ever understand?" Koenma narrowed his eyes on me and I could sense him heavily scrutinizing my every action. It disturbed me.

"Exact opposite. I was envious of everyone around me for their strength and lied not only to myself but many others about my own weaknesses. I played them and made them think I was invincible," I answered calmly.

"Did you ever, e_ver _imagine yourself killing everything that stood in your way, including loved ones and ruling with an iron fist over all of humanity?" Koenma questioned seriously.

All doubt faded from my face and showing nothing but the truth on my face, I looked into his eyes and answered, "Never."

For a moment, it was quiet. Koenma was lost within his own thoughts and it was like I was no longer there. He knew more than he was telling…he always did…So what did it mean for me? After all, this was my fate that he was debating on. What was this damn Yin-Yang Eye all about and what was all this power that Morte and Azra wanted to get their hands on? Why did it happen to be me, that fell right into the laps of the Underworld Detectives? And why, for all the divine powers above, did I not know a damn thing about any of it?

"I would ask that you don't share anything about this meeting with the group. I don't want them more curious than I have already made them myself. Rin, I am trusting you because you have never shown me any reason to believe that you would try to aid Morte and Azra in whatever trouble they plan on causing. Please, whatever you find out about the Yin-Yang Eye will you please report to me? I'm still too thoroughly confused as to what connection you have with it and I'll need to know more to properly assess the situation," Koenma said looking at me seriously. I smiled in relief and he held a hand out to me in agreement. I gladly took it.

"No worries, Koenma. I don't plan on helping those low-lives and if I find out anything about all this shit they're talking, I'll let you know," I said happily. It was good to know that despite the sudden change in information, Koenma would allow me to stay free and not confine me and my movements. He trusted me…and whether or not that was a good thing was still beyond me. So we doubled back and began making out way back to the rest of the group. As we went I decided it was time to get a little information.

"So, Koenma…have Morte and Azra been causing trouble a lot? Or did they only just surface about the same time I did?" I asked curiously causing him to tilt his head to the side thoughtfully.

"They were petty criminals really. Yes, the Reikai was on the lookout for them, but everything they did was easily reversed and did not bother with the human world too much. Mostly they were just slipping between the Makai and the Ningenkai to cause a little bit of trouble. Their resurfacing with you is the first time we've dealt with them on such a large scale," he replied without looking at me.

"Intersting…" I muttered falling into my thoughts. The rest of our walk was in silence and he left me at the entrance of the building saying that there were certain matters he needed to attend to. I imagined that was the judging of Toguro's soul and Genkai revival, so I bid him farewell and made my way back to where the rest of the group was staying. It was strangely quiet and at first I wondered what was going on. That is…until I walked into our team room. As soon as I opened the door, I came face-to-face with all of my teammates completely knocked out as they were sprawled across the furniture. Even Lord of the Jagan, Hiei was sleeping in his little perch on the windowsill. I blinked it surprise…This was the part of the story the anime and manga glossed over…The boat was coming to pick us up tomorrow and in the meantime…these lazy bums were gonna sleep the entire day away…Well, when you can't beat them, join them.

I shrugged it off and made my way into my own room where I decided to pack everything of mine in the bag before falling onto the bed. It wasn't very long until I was myself was nodding off to sleep as well.

_-Until Next Time-_

_**ME:**_** And that my friends, takes us into the thirteenth volume of Manga. Not too shabby if you ask me. I tried to make this update a little longer and give a little set up to things I had planned to come. **

_**Kurama:**_** (ahem) Are you going to call off the stampede?**

_**ME:**_** (looks at him like he's crazy) This early? Who are you kidding?**

_**Kurama:**_** (sigh) I didn't think so.**

_**ME:**_** Anyway, hope you all enjoyed it. Thought if I posted this relatively close to the last one it may make up for some late updates and I'll keep trying to update quicker. Also, don't kill the muses everyone, but you're more than welcome to cause them some trouble. Lol Have fun guys and see ya next time!**

_**Btw, just to give a little taste of the plot twist coming up in the next chapter, I decided to do a rare little "Sneak Peak." Hope you enjoy!**_

I finally made my way back to the outer rim of civilization and it dawned on me how much farther I really had to go. Exhaustion was rushing over me and I decided that it was time for me to splurge a little to buy a train ride home. I knew of one that would get me a ten minute walk away from my apartment and figured that it would not only cut down on both the time I took to get there, and the energy exerted, but also manage to keep me out of trouble along the way. I quickly found the station and made it onto the train two minutes before it left its station. My eyes honed on the empty seat and I plopped down feeling my bruise body relaxing. I glanced at a nearby person's watch and saw that I had a lazy four hour ride ahead of me. Yawning, I leaned back and almost nodded off to sleep until I sensed something that froze the very blood in my veins. Ceasing all movement, I looked out of the corner of my eyes as I watched a large figure with the hood of their hoodie covering their face sit down in the seat just opposite of me. Humans couldn't sense anything wrong about it, but being a demon it was easy for me to sense the fighting aura I knew all too well. It left me with only one unanswered question.

If Azra was sitting right there before my very eyes, where the hell was his demonic bitch of a sister, Morte?


	36. Sheer Dumb Luck

_**ME:**_** (still sitting back watching the stampede after the characters with a satisfied little smirk) Perhaps that will teach them to mess with me. If an authoress glomp is not enough to keep them from causing trouble this will.**

_**Kuwabara:**_** Whoa! Some red-head nearly got her hands on Ghost. The only thing that kept her back was another girl tripping her.**

_**Yusuke:**_** Yeeesh, these girls may kill each other to get their hands on them.**

_**Kurama:**_** (shaking his head) This is by far the worse punishment either of those two could endure.**

_**ME:**_** (lounging back devilishly) Of course, why do you think I did it? Anyway, let's get to this chapter shall we? I'm excited to bring up the new plot twists and such.**

_**Kuwabara:**_** She doesn't own anything except for her characters.**

_**ME:**_** (cackling) Chapter Start.**

_-Chapter Start-_

_**Chapter 36: Sheer Dumb Luck**_

I shrugged it off and made my way into my own room where I decided to pack everything of mine in the bag before falling onto the bed. It wasn't very long until I was myself was nodding off to sleep as well.

_-Sometime Later-_

Something in the back of my mind drew me out of my sleep and I slowly sat up on the bed feeling as if I had been hit by a tank… I guess Toguro's aura had taken more out of me than I thought. When I cleared the sleep from my eyes, I noticed my arm felt almost…better? I glanced down at it and though the nerves were still pretty much fried, I could tell that someone had paid it some much needed attention that I neglected. I blinked and glanced around to see that my door was wide open and everyone else still seemed to be sleeping soundly. I got to my feet and stepped out of the room. The very first thing my eyes set on was Hiei who was still sleeping on his perch looking out the window.

It was pure instinct. My feet shuffled quietly to his side, and I leaned over him and watched his peaceful expression as he slept. I couldn't explain what possessed me to think it was a good idea, but even though he had been riding my case ruthlessly as of late, I just wanted to give him the smallest kiss…So I leaned down and just as I was about to brush my lips against his cheek, his eyes flashed open. Before I knew what was happening, my back was laid flat against the ground and Hiei's katana closely pressed against my throat. Meanwhile Hiei was crouched on the ground just over me and his hand was firmly placed on the ground next to my head. His almond shaped eyes were alight with the instinct to fight and I watched as the fire slowly calmed as he realized it was only me who had been hovering over him in his sleep. Once his mind had caught up with reality, Hiei took his eyes off of me to glance around the room to see if his sudden movement and my body connecting with the floor had woken anyone in the room. It hadn't and when he returned his attention to me, there was a clear suspicion in his eyes.

"_What were you doing?"_

"_I…I…I was just trying to…"_ I stammered not really sure what to say. Yes, Hiei had kissed me once before, but I didn't exactly seem him as the type of person to be open to such physical shows of attention. Then again, if I didn't tell him what I was trying to do, he might misconstrue it as something else, so I pulled my determination back together and replied, _"I was going to give you a kiss."_

He blinked and then using speed only he could achieve, Hiei was on his feet and the sword was replaced in its sheath. I managed to push myself up and arched my eyebrow at him curiously. It didn't matter if he had a hard time dealing with emotions. I didn't need to be thrown to the floor and then ignored. Yet, just as I was about to storm, he turned to me and said, _"What have you been hiding in your pocket that has kept you so distracted as of late?"_

I blinked, "Are you seriously still on that tangent?"

"I don't appreciate being lied to," Hiei answered in a deadly whisper. My jaw dropped and I felt irritation swell in my chest. Before I could respond though, Hiei drove the knife in even further with his cold calculating voice, "And frankly, you've been lying since you arrived among our group. It does not seem to have an end."

"You…you…bastard! You know full well why I have kept as much secret from you all as I have and yet you want to hold that over my head. Look what happened when they found out about how much I knew! I never lied to you out of spite! Or do you forget how much you wanted to slit my throat when you found out I knew about Yukina?"

By this point, Kurama had awakened and was paying very close attention to what was being said between us while the rest slept. Hiei noticed this however, and advanced even closer to hiss quietly at me, "Watch yourself, onna. You're treading dangerous waters."

"Tread this, Hiei. If I'm such a damn burden and always lying you won't have to deal with me as soon as the boat drops us back home. I'm out of your hair. I thought you were beginning to… I don't know maybe admit there was some small emotion between the two of us, but you know, screw it. And if you're so damn concerned about what I've been hiding, here it is. I don't know why I attached to it in the first place," I snapped and reached into my pocket where the black jewel continued to rest in my pocket. Tears of frustration threatened to spill over my eyes when I threw the jewel at his forehead and moved to go back to my room, but not before I threw one final insult over my shoulder, "This is what I get for falling into my own disillusioned fantasy. Who was I to believe in such a pathetic human sentiment?"

I stomped into my room and snatched up the bag I had everything packed in. Without even thinking about it, I swept out of our team room and made my way down the hall. I was surprised the button on the elevator didn't break after how hard I jammed my finger to take me down to the bottom level. Biting down on the corner of my lip, I blocked all of my emotions and refused to think about what just happened. After all, I wasn't originally a part of their story and thinking I could fit it was foolish. I knew that now. When the doors to the elevator opened up, I found that it was completely empty. There was not a soul to be found. It would still be some time before the boat came to take everyone home and that meant there would be time for me to kill. I was unsure how Hiei and Kurama would explain away my absence for the rest of the group but at the same time, I forced myself not to care. Adjusting the bag over my shoulder, I began making my way down the hall and out of the building.

From that point, my mind remained on autopilot and I wasn't aware of where I was until I was standing on the beach, in the exact spot that the boat would arrive. It was uncanny how my subconscious took me where I needed to be so I dropped my back in the sand and kicked off my shoes. Not particularly caring about the water, I stood knee deep in the waves and closed my eyes allowing the thoughts to wash away. Well, more like forced the thoughts to wash away and recede with the water. There were way too many thoughts going through my head and some I really didn't want to face. Some, however, I was afraid to face and that made me feel worse than ever. Admitting that only meant that, to a small degree, Hiei had a point about me being weak. Considering that was something I wasn't willing to give into, I threw the thoughts from my mind and though of the apartment I now called home.

I really looked forward to getting there and sleeping in my comfortable bed. I could even try my hand at cooking again to make sure I wasn't beginning to get rusty. I smirked and imagined relaxing. Perhaps even, for a short time, not worrying about having to dive into a fight. Maybe, I could get at least a three day reprieve from all this insanity…although as much as I desired it, I highly doubted it. Soon, I left the water and returned to the sand to lie out and wait for the boat. It was only a matter of time before I heard the group's voices and looked to see the approaching boat. I quickly hid among the lining of the trees and watched the reunion between the group and Genkai. It was amusing to see Yusuke react as he did and it was good to see Genkai alive once more. No matter what happened, I would always care about that slave driving old hag. Even when she was to play her trick on the group later.

As soon as the boated stopped I waited for the group to board first. Then, I made my way onto the boat without them noticing. Well, almost without them noticing. Genkai, Kurama, and of course it didn't need to be said that Hiei as well, were quick to hone on my position even though it was well hidden from everyone else. I knew without a doubt that Hiei would not advance on my position, but I could not be sure about Kurama or Genkai. So in the meantime, I lounged back and watched the sky above me. Soon it lulled me into a very unwilling sleep.

_-Some Undeterminable Time Later-_

The blaring of the boat's horn shook me awake and I jumped from my hiding spot to land with a soft thud on the deck of the boat. Fortunately, the group was too focused on being almost home to notice me and I was able to fade into the shadows before they got distracted once again. It was a long ten minutes before the boat finally landed again and I was beginning to wish I had been in a disagreement with Hiei so I could stand with the rest of them. Unfortunately, my stubbornness wouldn't allow it and I was forced, by no one but myself, to endure it alone and in silence. Yusuke and the others looked around presumably trying to find me, but I couldn't bring myself to show them that I was close by. It didn't matter though, they knew I was there, otherwise they wouldn't have left the island. Although as to why Genkai didn't drag me to my senses, I was unsure.

The boat landed and the group lingered for a moment, no doubt waiting for me. Hiei on the other hand, made his way off of the boat the second it landed and I watched him fade from sight. I was almost positively that he had completely washed his hands of anything dealing with me, and my chest felt cold. Despite popular belief, I didn't exactly enjoy causing him so much trouble, but at the same time, I wasn't up for constantly being reminded how much of a burden I may happen to be. After so many times, I make it a point to walk away and leave them to their own devices. In this case however, I knew something would take my right back into the open arms of the group. That was just how this was going to be, but until then, I was going to try to enjoy my downtime while I had it. It wasn't long before the rest of them disembarked and I made my way off the boat as well and quickly darted to a hiding spot. They we making their plans for what would happen next and I offered a grateful glance to them before sneaking off to head back to my apartment.

It was time for me to get some proper rest and I yawned at the mere thought of it. It was nice to see Genkai knocking sense back into the group and as I hoisted my bag over my shoulder, I thought about the next time I would see them. The way I figured it, I had at least three days until the next major war broke against the demons. Besides the muscles in my arms were beginning to stiffen up and it was about time for me to rewrap it anyway. It was slightly distressing that my arm felt so heavy like it was made of lead, but it felt somewhat… "better" since Toguro had "purified" it. I wasn't sure how yet, but I was determined to fix it on my own; after all, the others had plenty of other things to worry about.

I finally made my way back to the outer rim of civilization and it dawned on me how much farther I really had to go. Exhaustion was rushing over me and I decided that it was time for me to splurge a little to buy a train ride home. I knew of one that would get me a ten minute walk away from my apartment and figured that it would not only cut down on both the time I took to get there, and the energy exerted, but also manage to keep me out of trouble along the way. I quickly found the station and made it onto the train two minutes before it left its station. My eyes honed on the empty seat and I plopped down feeling my bruise body relaxing. I glanced at a nearby person's watch and saw that I had a lazy four hour ride ahead of me. Yawning, I leaned back and almost nodded off to sleep until I sensed something that froze the very blood in my veins. Ceasing all movement, I looked out of the corner of my eyes as I watched a large figure with the hood of their hoodie covering their face sit down in the seat just opposite of me. Humans couldn't sense anything wrong about it, but being a demon it was easy for me to sense the fighting aura I knew all too well. It left me with only one unanswered question.

If Azra was sitting right there before my very eyes, where the hell was his demonic bitch of a sister, Morte?

Forcing myself to remain calm as I possibly could, I glanced around the train intently. It was apparent that they wanted to keep a low-profile, or they would've launched into a full out assault against me by now. Now that could be viewed as a good thing, or a very, very, very bad thing. It was a good thing because we were surrounded by innocent humans and they would no doubt end up dead if Azra decided to get violent here. It was an extremely bad thing because I was alone and at this rate, they would be able to ambush me without any of my comrades to safe my butt if it were needed. I reached out with my mind, hoping against hope to find Kurama or even more unlikely yet Hiei, but instantly recoiled upon colliding with a mental wall. My eyes widened in shock and I cradled my arm against my breast as a shot of pain seared through it. I bit down on my lip as a new ominous revelation dawned on me and it of course meant nothing good in the long run.

Morte had become extremely proficient with her Jagan and had effectively isolated me from everyone else. It was just Morte, Azra, and me…and I was in no shape to fight. I hadn't gotten any proper rest since before the tournament started. I attempted a calming breath and telepathically reached out to the both of them, "_What exactly are you two playing at?"_

"_Just thought we would check up on you, pup. It's been a little while and we just wanted to see you again,"_ Azra answered as the figure with the hoodie moved to look at me. My spine seemed to freeze and I cursed my stubbornness. Why the hell did I go off on my own when I knew these two would be waiting around the corner? I didn't want to cause the group anymore trouble and I needed to stand on my own…but look where that landed me! Damn it! This was easier when I only had to worry about Morte, but now I had to worry about her accursed brother as well!

"_Check up on, my ass!" _I hissed angrily. Azra only chuckled and glanced away at me shaking his head. I withdrew into my panicked thoughts and the rest of the train ride was quiet except for the occasional chatter among the humans. Azra pretended to fall asleep and every time I reached out my mind to find my friends, I was slapped back by Morte's Jagan. I was officially screwed. The world around me went about its normal way and not a single scream broke the calm. What the hell were they doing? They were demons! Demons didn't just ride trains with their enemies! Aside from the act of isolating me, there weren't any other aggressive moves made. They were biding their time, and the fact that I didn't know what was coming next, made it worse. The hours inched by and my head was throbbing with anxiety by the time we were three stops from where I had previously intended getting off at. I watched the doors open and I was overwhelmed by the urge to run. I side-glanced at Azra to see he was staring at me. He knew what I was thinking and I just watched the doors close.

Two more stops were left. I couldn't bring myself to stare at Azra and my heart started pounding to match the throbbing in my head. What was I going to do now? Those two could take me down without even trying and if I wasn't able to let anyone know what was going on, there wouldn't be a snowball's chance in hell of finding me. I closed my eyes and prayed for a miracle to descend on me. My stomach was churning with anxiety and the train was slowing. There was movement directly across from me and I looked to see Azra leaving like he couldn't possibly care less that I was still on the same train as he. Once he was fully past me, a piece of paper fell from his hoodie to land at my feet. I turned to see him exit and then pulled together the last pit of courage I could muster to pick up the wad. My arms were trembling beyond control as I unfolded the note and my heart skipped a beat. The scrawl was chilling but the message was far worse.

"_You're living on borrowed time and your hourglass is nearly empty."_

The train began moving again and I found my chest was tight. Shit just got real. There was no way Morte and Azra would bluff about something like that. Now, the possibility of me not seeing tomorrow became very real. I tried one final attempt at reaching out to Hiei and was once again denied. Damn! I could feel cold terror creeping through my veins, freezing me from the inside out and there was a ticking clock in my head counting down the time I had left. What in God's name was I supposed to do now? It wasn't much longer before my stop and I balled the paper up in one hand while I grabbed my bag with the other. As the train began to slow, my mind raced through my options and when the doors open, I dashed off the train as quickly as my legs could take me. Once I was safely away from any human eyes, I leapt onto the closest rooftop and used what excess energy I had stored up to practically flew to my apartment. The action didn't exactly make sense seeing as I knew Morte and Azra were most likely already there waiting, but the instinct to leave something behind in hopes that my friends could track it back to me overwhelmed all other good sense.

Finally, my feet skid across the roof of my apartment building and I stumbled into the staircase. It was a complete shock that I hadn't fallen down the stairs leading down from the roof and just as I reached the hall that held my door, my keys were magically in my hands. It was only seconds later that I was standing in the threshold of my apartment and I dropped everything in my hands, horror struck with what I saw. Everything had been torn apart and utterly destroyed like a war had occurred. Shattered glass glinted in the darkness and it looked as though the fight broke out in the middle of the room. I quickly glanced around to see that the living room wasn't the only place to be destroyed either. Things were spilled all about in the kitchen and I could even see broken furniture leading back to the room in which I slept. Morte and Azra had done a very thorough job of tearing up my apartment and making it look as though a struggle had broken out. I hesitantly took a step further into the living room and at that exact moment a shadow appeared in the light behind me. There was a metallic clang and before I even had the chance to turn around a blade was shoved straight through my right shoulder. As I choked out a muffled cry of pain, I heard a satisfied giggle from Morte as she purred, "Now the final piece of the puzzle has been laid out. All we needed was you blood to show that you really had been ambushed in this exact spot. No way of faking it."

"Damn you, Morte," I growled as she ripped the blade from my shoulder and kicked me in the small of my back. My body flipped over the up-turned couch and I slammed into the broken coffee table. This effectively stunned me and in the struggle regain my control, I felt blood slowly oozing out of the wound. It was obvious now. Morte wanted my group to stumble upon this and in preparation for that, she wanted her scene to look as dramatic as she could possible make it. No doubt she would then flush me out and cause me to run right into her brother's clutches. I grit my teeth as I pushed myself into a sitting position and reached for my chakram on my hips. Morte was quick to notice this however and in an instant two of her damned shadow fiends forcibly pinned me to the ground. Their mistress strolled over and opened her Jagan wide. My lungs felt as if a hundred pounds had been forced against both of them and I was rendered helpless as she reached down and ripped my own weapons from my hips with a twisted smile.

"I think leaving these here will pull the scene together nicely," she cackled as she threw them into two different walls and stayed upon impact. Then the demoness stepped back and motioned for her lackeys to bring me to my feet. Tired of playing her game anymore and furious that she trespassed in my home, I allowed a surge of lightning to fly through my arms aimed directly at the shadows. I was released and slammed them into the ground as I leapt to my feet, but of course I didn't get far. Just as I looked over at Morte, she buried ten different knives into various spots on my body. Instinct kicked in. I needed out and Morte was blocking the obvious exit. My mind honed on the window directly behind me. At this time of night, no one would be walking along it and I was losing valuable time just standing there.

"You still underestimate me, Morte. That's why you'll never get rid of this thorn in your side!" I sneered as I spun around and dove through the glass without a moment's hesitation. A startled cry broke out from Morte as I flipped in the air and landed on my feet. Two of her knives dislodged themselves from my flesh as I ran from the apartment and darted down the street. I grimaced in pain and struggled to figure out where I could go to get some help. Going to Kurama was out of the question. It would endanger Shiori and no matter what, I couldn't allow that to happen. There was no guarantee that Yusuke or Kuwabara would be anywhere that I could reach them for a few more hours. I had no idea where Ghost or Genkai would be and as for Hiei…well he was better at finding me than I could hope to be at finding him. On top of that, I had no way to make contact with anyone of the Rekai either. Perfect and absolute isolation.

As it stood, I was alone and all that was left for me to do was survive. Hopefully, the group would catch on that something was wrong. I dashed into a nearby alley and witness one of Morte's shadow minions materialize out of thin air. I glared at the creature in frustration and ripped a knife out of my shoulder shouting, "Go to hell!"

I launched the knife right into the face of the creature and watched it die before my very eyes. This didn't faze me however and I quickly made my way onto a nearby rooftop. I forced myself to keep running even though I could feel Morte's Jagan bearing down on me. My lungs were searing in pain and it was like enduring the worst asthma attack I had ever had. My feet fell out from under me and I collapsed on my knees of a rooftop, struggling to breathe. There was a rhythmic pounding drumming in my head and I knew that this wasn't going to end well. I was still on my knees when six different shadows surrounded me on the roof and with one look, I could tell, no pun intended, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they were different from the rest. I tensed and growled, "What the hell do you fools have hidden up your sleeves?"

"I believe you would call it self-awareness," one of the creatures said as it cocked his head to the side as it looked over me. My heart plummeted to my stomach and I blinked. You have got to be kidding me! Since when did these creatures go from mindless drones to self-aware fighting minions? Another of the creatures laughed ominously and the first continued to speak, "You taught our creator a valuable lesson in the Dark Tournament. Her mindless shadows are not useful when fighting someone like you. However, we are not mindless, but we are still ready to throw our lives on the line for our master!"

"Well, ain't that just peachy," I hissed grabbing another knife and pulled it from my flesh. I held it out before me with the intent of using it in defense and focused on stopping my body from trembling as violently as it was. This was going to be one hell of a night. I took a calming breath before saying. "Self-aware or not, I'm going to lay you all flat! Bring it!"

"Indeed we shall!" was the unified response as the lunged at me in unison. I dove to the side and spun around just in time to bury the knife into a creature's throat. Then, none too gently, I ripped it out and flipped away from another oncoming attacker. They didn't seem disturbed in the slightest by the death of their comrade and converged on me once again. I grit my teeth and plunged the knife into the chest of the closest enemy, before initiating a fist fight with the other four. It was all I could do to keep them at bay and no matter how hard I tried, I didn't have the chance to land any hits of my own. The five of us danced around the roof of the building and I could feel my power beginning to exhaust itself. I growled in frustration and decided it was time to play a little dirty. Dodging to the side, I slammed my foot down the closest shadow's foot and threw him back into the others. Three of them got tangled up together, but the last was quick and flipped over them like it was effortless. I rolled to the side as the mass of shadows hit the ground and bounced to my feet trying to find where the fourth had gone. Just as I found him, his fist was flying toward my head to land one destructive sucker punch. Reacting on the instincts I had gained from Judo, I grabbed his fist and then rolled onto my back while kicking my foot into the middle of his gut. Using his own momentum, I threw him over my head and watched as the creature went flying over the edge of the roof. I got up and looked to see the shadow disappear upon making contact with the ground. I heard the other shadows scuffling behind me and took what little time I had to rip the rest of the knives out of my skin.

"It's about time we finished this!" I screamed as I lunged back into the battle. At first, I'm ashamed to admit, I was getting my ass handed to me on a golden platter. One of my ribs had been cracked, my lip was busted and blood was pouring down my face from a gash in my forehead just above my left eye. The creatures continued pounding away and I noticed that my vision was beginning to blur. I needed to nip this battle in the bud and do so quickly. So I focused my lightning into my hands and grabbed two of the shadows by their throats, effectively killing them both by the sheer power of electricity. Without missing a beat, I tackled the final enemy and wrapped my arms around his head. With one swift jerk, I twisted it until I heard a sickening snap and the creature faded out of my hands. I rested on my knees for a moment and wiped the blood from my face. Somewhat satisfied with myself, I smirked and said, "Self-aware or not, I still kicked your ass and you ended up dead. Any questions?"

For once, irony and instant karma didn't feel the need to respond to my claim and it gave me some time to straighten my thoughts out. One thing was clear. I still needed somewhere to hide. I couldn't be sure how long the fight lasted and how long it had been since the group left the boat. Which once again meant I had no secure possibilities of gaining help. I couldn't return to my apartment to get my weapons. That would be suicide. Despite my hopes otherwise, I was sure not one of my friends had even been alerted to my absence either. Where could I go? Where? I was getting desperate and I knew there was a highly unlikely chance that I could possibly find Kuwabara or Yusuke…it was a hope in vain. I knew that, but it was a hope. I began to make my way to Yusuke's house, but as I entered a dark alley, I collided with a very strong, muscled chest that I knew didn't belong to anyone I called friend. My heart froze and when I stepped back and looked up to the face that belong to the chest, the last of my hope died on the spot. Azra placed on hand on my shoulder and raised the other one saying, "Good to see you again, little pup. Unfortunately for you, you won't be alive much longer to regret it."

_-Sometime Later-_

I was faintly aware of a dull pounding in my head and my mind and body struggled to catch up to the present. Soon, my thoughts were clear as crystal and I realized that my hands were bound in front of my and there was a gag over my mouth. My eyes snapped open and I somehow pushed myself into a sitting position despite the awkward maneuvering caused by the binds. The wounds I had sustained were now caked in dried blood and there were dozens of bruises all over my stiff, aching body. I winced with every movement and cursed how I allowed myself to get into such a situation. After doing a final check over myself and being satisfied that I was going to survive for the moment, I looked around, analyzing everything that I saw. There were hundreds of crates and boxes stacked on top of each other and the building reminded me of the warehouse I had once hidden away in before I became an official member of the group. Damn. People didn't normally frequent places like this unless they were gangs and considering this place didn't seem to be disturbed, I knew this wasn't the case. The chances of being found were dwindling and so I focused on freeing myself. I managed to remove the gag and using my teeth, began to pull at the ropes around my wrists. It was only a matter of time before I was on my feet and searching for some way out.

My eyes instantly honed on four service entrances and three large truck entrances. I cursed angrily as I found each of them locked and retreated to give the windows a look over. They were extremely high up and I would have to be creative to find a way to get up to them in the first place. I hissed and ran my hand through my hair.

Suddenly a familiar presence entered my mind and I felt hope rise in my chest. Seconds later, I was comforted to hear the aggravated snap of Hiei saying, "Where did you disappear to baka onna? Koenma wishes to speak with you and they seem fixated on the fact that I can find you."

"Hiei! I was attacked! Morte and Azra-" I began to exclaim until the connection was severed and high pitched laughter broke out from directly behind. Cursing my own gullibility, I slowly turned to see Morte and Azra standing there leering at me with smug expressions. I swallowed my fear and mustered my courage to stand proudly before them and say, "I'll ask it again. What the hell are you two playing at?"

"We're switching things up. Trying to strategies," Azra responded conversationally before disappearing from his sister's side. His aura quickly materialized behind me and before I knew what was happening, his hand was wrapped tightly around my bad arm. With a simple jerk and twist, I was sent to my knees hissing in pain as he pressed it to the middle of my back. Tears welled in my eyes, but I did my best to hold them back and glared defiantly at Azra out of the corner of my eye. He merely smirked and continued, "Let's see how you fare when I enter the fray."

"Great. One more cockroach to exterminate before it decides to reproduce," I spat through the pain as I fixed him with the fiercest. Azra didn't even blink. Instead, he twisted my arm even further and effortless snapped it clean in half. I couldn't stop from screaming in pain and watched as Morte advanced on me.

"Your tough act is useless here. You're outnumbered and clearly outmatched. Your friends have no idea where you are and not to mention the simple fact that you haven't been able to rest and recharge yourself after the Dark Tournament. The two of us, however, are at one hundred and ten percent. By my count, all your resources have been used up," Morte cackled contemptuously and launched a swift kick into the middle of my chest. This knocked all the wind out of me and Azra allowed me to fall quite unceremoniously flat on my face. Rage was boiling in the middle of my chest and despite me being at the disadvantage, I wanted nothing more than to beat both of them into the ground.

"Like I've said before. Who's acting?" I roared kicking Azra in the kneecap and jumped to my feet. I focused some lightning into my good arm and when I spun around, I sent an electric shock straight through the middle of his chest. Yet, when I turned around to face off with Morte, she was a lot closer than I had anticipated and she landed yet another well placed kick to my chest. This attack sent me flying through the air and slammed into a crate that collapsed in on itself with the contact. I was severely dazed, but through pure stubbornness, managed to get to my feet and stumble away. Azra recovered a lot faster than I did and I soon found myself dangling in midair as he held me up by my throat. His fingers tightened around my windpipe and I choked on the lack of oxygen. There was nothing but murderous intent shining behind my enemy's eyes.

"I will show you why no one crosses me and lives, pup," he growled before launching into a full out assault. It was officially the most brutal beat-down I had ever endured in my life. Not even Genkai or Hiei had gone to such great lengths to beat me to submission or even cause as much pain as Azra did. He purposely would go the little extra mile and put in the extra effort to inflict as much torture and pain as he could while effectively stopping any form of retaliation from his prey. I quickly understood why it had been Morte fighting me this entire time all the way up until now. Had it been Azra, and I had pissed him off past his point of control, he would've easily destroyed me and from there the plans they had made would've been compromised. Azra would not have hesitated in making me reach a point worse than death and letting me suffer in it before putting me out of my own misery. It was little wonder why Morte kept him in reserve.

I couldn't say how long the beating lasted, but by the time that it ended, I could barely stand on my own two feet and my eyes were nearly swollen shut. I staggered away from them and cursed my luck to the deepest bowels of hell. Why did I have to be so pathetically weak? The whole time Azra had been wailing on me, I had only managed to land a grand total of three damaging hits, which included his hyper-extended knees, a horribly scorched wound on his shoulder, and a nice black shiner that had effectively swollen his left eye shut. Yet, there was only one thing going through my head. Why did he let me stumble away? He has threatened to kill me more than once? So, knowing it wasn't the smartest idea, I still decided to voice this realization. I coughed and wheezed, "Why am I still standing? I thought you were going to kill me?"

It wasn't Azra who answered me. He merely turned his back and moved toward his sister. Morte however advanced on me like a cat who finally cornered the mouse that had been teasingly alluding her this entire time.

"It would seem that there's been a change of plans… Try to escape alive, pup. It would be rather tedious if we had to bring another to finish your purpose, but don't misunderstand us. Just because we'd rather not bring another, we won't hesitate in killing you if the need arises. See you soon, pup!" Morte was standing directly in front of me with her hands ready to strike. Two open palms slammed into the middle of my chest and my body was sent flying through the air like a ragdoll. I toppled a tower of crates and lied in the destruction in a daze. There were dull sounds all around and I could faintly hear both of the siblings' voices. I couldn't, however, make out what was being said in any meaningful way. I closed my eyes and drifted away.

My consciousness was stuck somewhere between being out of it not to know what was going on around me and being aware enough to know that I needed to get the hell out of dodge and out of harm's way. I laid there for only lord knows how long and was finally able to regain my senses when I inhaled smoke instead of oxygen. Coughing uncontrollably, I sat up and noticed flames all around the warehouse. It was difficult to move, let alone breathe, but I forced myself into action and began looking for some way out. All the doors I had previously seen were covered in flames by this time and I was forced to look to higher ground. In that moment I saw what could be my saving grace, but before I had the chance to get to it, something frustrating happened.

A box completely coated in flames, fell from the towering stack beside me and before I could even blink it caught me square across the back of my neck, bringing me to the ground once more. Flames ran along the entire left side of my body and I struggled to pull myself away from the wreckage. It was difficult but after using another piece of box that was destroyed before it, I rolled away and realized that I had another problem. For some reason, I couldn't put the flames out on my clothes and upon further inspection realized that the flames seemed to have a black tint to them. No matter what I tried, my control over flames was useless and as the pain began to get too unbearable, I did the only thing I could think to do. I hit the ground like a ton of bricks and smothered the flames to the best of my ability. It took some time, but where the flames were gone, I searched around to find the ladder that I had thought to be my saving grace. I made my way over to it as quickly as I could, given my condition and felt my heart plummet when I saw the metal rungs of the ladder. By now the flames had made it scalding to the touch, but I resolved it was a small price to pay for the possibility of reaching safety. The skin on my hands seared and blistered as they connected with the middle but determination pushed my ascent. I was easily three stories high and although, if only for a moment, I was free from the flames. This relief however was quickly dashed as I was hit with the heat from the fire and choked by the smoke rising in the air. Using my good arm, I pulled my shirt over my nose and breathed carefully as I limped down the catwalk to inspect one of the large windows.

"Damn," I choked in dismay. While these windows would be perfect for a quick escape, it overlooked a busy street and a crowd was beginning to form as the humans saw that the warehouse was on fire. There would be no plausible way of escape so long as they stood there. I needed to find another way out and do so quickly as the smoke was getting thicker and thicker by the minute. I looked around frantically and saw another set of windows across the catwalk on the complete other side of the building. With blurring vision, I moved as quickly as I could on a bruised leg and reached the other side. What I found was not exactly appealing, but it would allow for an unseen escape.

The windows overlooked a decent hill that ended with a river at the bottom. The grass was somewhat wild on that hill and it seemed that not many humans would have any reason to go back there. I was beginning to contemplate jumping when I could feel myself fading out. It was make or break time and I wasn't ready to die. Everything was automatic. Covering my face and tensing my body, I jumped through the glass and somehow kept the glass from damaging my skin too much. It was amazing to breathe fresh air and it felt great to have the sun on my skin. For a moment I was freefalling and it ended all too soon when my left leg broke, more like snapped in half, when I landed on the ground. My body pitched forward and I rolled down the hill completely unable to stop. It was obvious how this was going to go.

After rolling for what seemed a good minute, I smacked into a ridge and was launched into the river. Immediately, the current swept me away and I struggled to get above the water. After struggling and fighting, I finally grabbed a dangling tree branch that was skimming the surface of the water and I hauled my head up to breathe. I gulped in the air as quickly as I could and noticed a lone figure standing on the bank of the river. It took a minute, but I recognized it to be Kuwabara. He stared at me in shock before running toward me to try to help me. I did everything I could to hand on, but my limits had been reached. Kuwabara didn't even make it to the water before I blacked out.

_-Later-_

"…Rin…can you hear me?"

"Answer us, baka onna…"

The voices bounced around in my head. The first was soft and concerned. The second was harsh and sharp in annoyance. Slowly but surely, my senses came together and I realized it was Kurama and Hiei. Somehow…I was alive. I slowly opened my eyes and found the right one to be completely swollen shut. It was dark and the stars were shining bright over my head. Apparently the river had dropped me off at some random embankment and even more surprising, after inspecting it, I found it was only five minutes from my apartment.

"Rin! If you can hear me, please respond!" Kurama persisted.

I growled back at them, finding it difficult to form a more coherent thought. It would only be a matter of time before they found me and not wanting to be any more of a damsel in distress than I already was, I somehow pulled the strength together to get to my feet. Balance was practically impossible and I'm sure my movements resembled something like that out of a zombie movie as I fumbled my way back to my apartment. It was dead in the middle of the night and I didn't meet anyone along the way. My body ached, but at least I could move. Soon, I was in the building of the apartment and I could faintly sense at least six different auras in my apartment. It was a miracle I was still standing by the time I threw open the door to my apartment.

"Rin!" a chorus of voices rang through my hearing as I blinked at the scene around me. The destruction of my home looked worse in the light and my knees gave out from under me. Instead of hitting the floor though, I fell into the warmth of a pair of muscled arms. I blinked a few more times to see Hiei lowering me to the ground and Kurama kneeling to look over the wounds. His green eyes were wide in shock.

"How'd you manage to get yourself in and out of this much trouble so soon? It hasn't even been two days since the Dark Tournament," he asked shaking his head.

"Sheer dumb luck…and I'm never taking the train ever again," I grumbled before blacking out.

_-Until Next Time-_

_**ME:**_** Well, that was kinda a fun chapter now wasn't it?**

_**Yusuke:**_** You are insane. **

_**Kuwabara:**_** After going through all of that, you go and call it fun? You have serious issues.**

_**Kurama:**_** Be that as it may, she does have a talent for throwing things that you don't necessarily see coming, a lot like the fangirl attack on Hiei and Ghost.**

_**ME:**_** Yes, I will stop that attack during the next chapter. I suppose running for this long has been torturous enough for the two of them. Anyway! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I hope to see you in the next chapter! See ya later!**


	37. Revenge is Syrupy Sweet

_**ME:**_** Alright fans! It's time to stop chasing Ghost and Hiei around. Give them a bit of rest. (waits for the boys to run past a point and then presses a button that creates a glass room around them)**

_**Yusuke:**_** Ok…you saved them…but why is the room they're in separate from us?**

_**ME:**_** I said I was calling off the fangirl stampede…I never said I forgave them yet.**

_**Kurama:**_** I imagine that room is to be a form of…solitary confinement, for lack of a better term.**

_**ME:**_** (grins) Exactly! Payback is still coming!**

_**Kuwabara:**_** Wow you sure hold a grudge!**

_**ME:**_** (shrugs) They have it coming. I'll let them out next chapter. Anyway, thanks for being so patient readers and here's the next chapter! By the way, this time around, Rin gets smart! It's a miracle. I hope you enjoy!**

_-Chapter Start-_

_**Chapter 37: Revenge is Syrupy Sweet**_

"How'd you manage to get yourself in and out of this much trouble so soon? It hasn't even been two days since the Dark Tournament," he asked shaking his head.

"Sheer dumb luck…and I'm never taking the train ever again," I grumbled before blacking out.

_-Some Much Needed Rest Later-_

I became aware of a very soft pillow beneath my head and warm blankets pulled over my body. At first all I wanted to do was roll over and drift back to sleep, but I could faintly hear scuffling and upon paying closer attention I could hear pots being moved in a kitchen. Curious as to what was going on, I slowly forced my eyes open and blinked to clear away the sleep. Light was falling in through the windows and it became instantly apparent that I was no longer in my apartment. Although, after looking around at the mess that was the room I was resting in…I think my apartment looked a little cleaner despite being destroyed. Pushing myself into a sitting position, I looked around and realized where I was. It was Atsuko's new house after the original one burned down.

So the one rattling around in the kitchen was Atsuko. That was one mystery solved. Now there were just two more at the top of my list. The first was how did I even get here? The second was how bad my injuries were after my confrontation with Morte and Azra. I threw back the covers and looked over myself carefully. Apparently the broken bones in my leg has healed up, but still were a little sore. The swollen bruises on my face seemed to have gone down and the major injuries around my body were nothing more than aches and pains now. Except for my arm that is; for some reason it was still broken. It had been wrapped and somewhat casted. Pain shot through the arm whenever I moved the wrong way. It didn't make any sense. When Toguro attacked me in the arena and broke through my shield, he had completely eradicated not only Ghost's stone, but the shadows that had been absorbed into my arm as well. For all intents and purposes, he purified my arm, which meant that it should've healed normally. Instead, it was as though the arm had been completely taken over and now was refusing to even react to messages sent from my brain. I shook my head and inspected the rest of my body. Most of the bruises had receded and I found that I was dressed in a plain red t-shirt that seemed a little big for me and some jeans that were only a little big for me. Considering whose house I was in, it was almost safe to bet that the jeans belonged to Atsuko and the shirt belonged to Yusuke…Weird.

Deciding it would do me no more good to lie about lazily, I got to my feet slowly and stumbled out of the bedroom. My eyes were struggling to comprehend the world around me, but soon my vision cleared and Atsuko was standing five feet away with her hands on her hips and a goofy smile on her face.

"Hey there kido! How are you feeling?" she asked as she walked over and gave me a gentle pat on the back. I smiled and felt safe for once.

"I'm feeling like I got wailed on but other than that I'm ok. How long have I been out? How'd I get here? Where's-"

"Hold on tiger! I bet you have a million questions for me, but let's get some food in you first. It's only been two days, but I think that's enough without sustenance," Atsuko laughed as she shook her head and lead me to her kitchen. The sight was almost amusing to see how hard she tried to really cook something worthwhile to eat. The kitchen was a complete and utter mess altogether and there on the counter was a simple breakfast for the both of us. It was laughable how a small meal such as this caused her so much trouble.

"I'll make a deal with you, Atsuko. You fill me in on everything I missed while we eat, and then I'll help you clean up this whole apartment? Deal?" I said holding out my good arm to shake her hand. For a moment she seemed surprised and then broke out in a smile that rivaled her son's.

"Well, I don't usually take offers like that from someone who just got their ass kicked, but considering it's you, you bet I will!" Atsuko completely ignored my outstretched hand and slapped me hard across the back. I yelped and stumbled into one of her kitchen chairs and she laughed while she retrieved the food. I grumbled about being happy to amuse her, but she ignored that as well. As soon as she placed the food in front of me and I caught a whiff of it, I realized how hungry I was. Without waiting for an invitation, I dove into the food and Atsuko followed suit, diving into getting me up to date, "Well, apparently that short one, Hiei's his name? Anyway, he found out something strange concerning you and asked Yusuke if he had heard from you. At that point I think they got the whole group together and went over to your apartment. They found it completely destroyed with a piece of paper saying something about living on borrowed time. They figured you had been ambushed on your way home and were beginning to get a plan together when you stumbled into them. They didn't know how to handle you being as messed up as you were. So they couldn't very well leave you in that apartment to recover and Yusuke volunteered our place. If I had known I would've tried to make the place a little better for you. As it is, you've been resting in Yusuke's room for the past two days, healing faster than any of us thought you would. My house has been like a public meeting ground since you got hurt. The only one that hasn't come by is Hiei."

"Oh," I said quietly looking down at the glass of juice she had set down in front of me. When Hiei had caught me before I hit the ground, I saw something in his eyes that I had not seen before. Something that made me think that maybe, he had decided to try something new… but then I guess it had just been my imagination. Some things just don't change I suppose. Before thinking to heavily about it, I dove back into the food.

"Anyway, they were all worried about you. The entire first day you didn't move and it took a while to get all that blood off you… Yusuke was so angry that you had gotten into such a situation…" Atsuko drifted off and looked out the window. The rest of our meal was finished in silence. It felt as though Atsuko was brooding over something, but I couldn't tell what. It wasn't until we started cleaning up, that I pulled the courage together to ask her about it.

"Atsuko…is something troubling you?" I asked as I swept the table clean of beer cans and tossed them into a trash back. The black-haired woman straightened up and looked over at a picture of Yusuke she had on a table. I noticed it was the one she had used at his wake and I wondered if that was the only real picture she had of him. Knowing how Yusuke was, I wouldn't be too surprised.

"Yusuke has really changed…my boy was always a fighter…but it wasn't until this last fiasco that I realized how much he has changed… He was always alone…except for Keiko, Yusuke didn't have anyone he could relate to. Not even his own mother," Atsuko whispered running her hand through her hair thoughtfully. I froze on the spot and watched her in awe. The Atsuko I came to know from the anime was just a hopeless drunk, but the woman standing before me was not just a drunk, but a concerned mother who knew she was so distant from her son and regretted it. She was…sad to say the least. She looked over at me with her hurt eyes and continued, "I am a total screw up as a mother. No one has to tell me that…although Yusuke likes to remind me of it now and again. But…he's become such a good friend…he cares dearly about people and fiercely protects those he calls his friends…I hope that some small shred of my good intentions have helped him become the man he is today…Although I'm inclined to believe he only became that way from having to clean up my messes…"

"Atsuko…" I said not quite sure how to react. I couldn't be sure, but I was inclined to believe that she had definitely made Yusuke the man he was today, with both the good and the bad. He protected people so fiercely because he learned from a young age to do so. Though I could never accurately argue my point, I was almost sure that, Yusuke did owe a lot to his mother. I walked over to her and put my hand on her shoulder with a smile, "Yusuke may not ever admit it, but not only does he love you, but he knows you have done good for him in his life. Your parenting style may not be orthodox or even the best, but Yusuke is as strong, caring, and compassionate as he is today, because of the way he grew up. Take that for what it's worth and forget this gloom you've seem to have fallen into."

With that I continued cleaning her apartment. Just as I reached the window, I thought I saw a shadow flashed across the sunlight and I looked up to see the branch of a tree moving. I narrowed my eyes for a moment, but couldn't see anything other than a few disturbed leaves falling to the ground. Deciding that it was a medium sized bird I was about to turn around until Atsuko called my name. I turned to look at her and there was a flash that caused me to jump. There she stood with a polaroid camera and I realized that she had done what I dread. Someone getting a picture of me.

"Really Atsuko! I hate cameras!" I growled swatting at her, but she cackled and dashed away with the photo in hand. She quickly hid it from my reach and I simply finished cleaning her house. It was at that point, I decided I wanted to return to my own apartment…and plot. It was a notion that occurred to me in the midst of cleaning the apartment. Morte and Azra caused whatever was wrong with my arm…and I wanted it fixed. So it was on now. I looked around at the apartment and said, "Ok Atsuko. I'm gonna be heading over to my apartment now alright? There's some things over there that I really need right now. Be seeing you soon."

"Don't get yourself into another mess alright? I don't wanna be held responsible alright?" Atsuko called as she was heading for the fridge and it didn't take long for me to hear the clink of some beers. I shook my head.

"Trust me. If all goes according to my plans, I'll have the upper hand!" I laughed waving as I exited her apartment. I began making my way down the street to the bus stop and was making a mental list of things I would need to pull this plan off. After I took some time at my apartment, I would head straight to a store that specialized in construction. That would have everything I needed. It wasn't long before I reached the bus just as it was about to leave and jumped on a quickly as I could. There was nowhere to sit, so I grabbed one of the hanging grips and patiently waited for my stop to come up. It was a relaxing ride and I looked around, wondering if Morte and Azra were close by. Of course it was broad daylight and not only were there more people on the bus, but every street was completely full of humans. There would be no easy, unseen escape and abduction. Which worked to my advantage.

It wasn't long before I reached my stop and after fighting to protect my injured arm, I stepped out and looked up at the window I had broken when I leapt out to escape Morte. It had already been replaced and I wondered how the inside of the apartment would look. I reached my hand into my pocket and was pretty happy to find that my keys were still there. Smiling, I walked into my building almost like nothing happened and my limp had stopped on the bus ride. All the while I was using some of my power to sense the surrounding area. I couldn't find Morte or Azra's power anywhere close and I felt alright putting my keys in the door and throwing it open. That is…until I saw the destruction that was still left over.

"Fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuu," I groaned shaking my head. I kicked the bag from the Dark Tournament out of the way of the door and shook my head. My chakram were still lodged in the walls, there was glass and blood all around the floor and the only difference was the window was completely taken care of. I guess that was because they didn't want humans asking any questions. Glaring around the room, I muttered, "Just standing here isn't going to fix anything… Might as well get to cleaning this too."

I walked over to the kitchen and after dodging through some glass, I found the broom and a bucket I could put water in and soap. So I swiftly brushed all the glass into a dustpan and tossed the shards into the trash can. From there I went to straightening up the place and making it look presentable once more. It didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would, but that just meant I would probably spend more time working in the living room, which was far more destroyed than anything else. Then I began taking stock of the things I would need to replace and moved into the living room. That part was going to be a little more difficult. I shook my head and went to pulling my weapons out of the wall. It was a tad difficult, considering Morte had thrust them there with some decent force, but I was able to dislodge them with a little maneuvering. However, I fell back and lost my balance, thus toppling over my fallen couch and luckily landing on the one spot on the carpet that didn't have glass spread across it.

I howled in pain as my arm smacked into the floor and cradled it to my chest, cursing my own clumsiness. It was then that I heard rapid footsteps and my front door was quickly thrown open. I rolled over onto my side and peaked my head over the couch to see Kurama and Hiei standing there looking ready for a fight. I lifted my head a little more so they could see me and held up my good hand saying, "Hiyah."

This caused both of them to sweat-drop and Kurama to pinch the bridge of his nose. I slowly got to my feet, dusting myself off as I went and placed my chakram on the dining table that only had some glass across it from a broken vase. I moved some of the hair from my face and tilted my head to the side questioningly. I imagined Kurama was there to be checking up on me if he had heard from Atsuko that I had decided to head over to my apartment all by my lonesome. As to why Hiei was there, was absolutely beyond me. We left each other on foul terms and I highly doubted he'd be willing to reconcile with me so quickly. It was Kurama who was first to speak, "I don't know whether to be relieved that you're moving so well on your own, or aggravated that you continue to put your well-being in danger by doing the simplest of tasks."

"Ouch Kurama…Thanks. I'm fine by the way. Just bumped my arm when I hit the ground. I was trying to clean up the apartment after Morte and Azra made it a point to make such a mess. Then…well…I was going to…turn the tables you could say," I chuckled darkly at the still forming plan in my mind. If everything went according to plan, Morte and Azra wouldn't know what hit them.

"Before we delve into what your mischievous mind is plotting, how about I aid in you cleaning up your apartment while Hiei goes to deliver the message to our comrades that you're up and moving around?" Kurama suggested side-glancing at Hiei who was staring at me with an unfathomable expression. Although I was perfectly fine with Kurama helping me about the apartment, I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to get rid of Hiei just yet. I mean, he had been a complete and utter ass the last time we spoke, but I had the hope that maybe…we could go back to at least being civil with one another.

"Hn," was his only response before the speed demon disappeared. I felt guilty for throwing the black jewel at his face and wondered if he'd ever give me the chance to apologize for it. However, Kurama didn't give me long to think about it, as he closed the door behind him and stared at me intently.

"We have quite a few things we need to discuss, Rin. Namely, what I witnessed between you and Hiei at the end of the Dark Tournament is near the top of the list, but before we get to that let's discuss this latest attack by Morte and Azra? It would seem that you are going to need a personal body guard or you will no longer be permitted to stray from the group," Kurama stated seriously causing me to flinch and flush with embarrassment and anger.

"I don't need a babysitter, Kurama! Yes, I admit it. I haven't been good at defending myself whenever it concerns the two of them, but I'll be damned if I have someone protecting me night and day like a damsel in distress. Anyway, I already have a plan to turn the tables on the two of them and all I need to do is regain a little more of my strength before I can do it. I'm tired of getting my ass handed to me on a silver platter. So knowing that the two of them only see me as a harmless pup that they can manipulate and toy around with, I can outwit them and ensnare them in a cleverly laid trap-"

"And what exactly does this plan entail?" Kurama asked sharply causing me to flinch. I hadn't realized it before, but I was almost sure that Kurama was angry with me…and I wasn't entirely sure why.

"Uh…well, I haven't gotten the specifics nailed down just yet, but I was hoping with the aid of your plants, I could stun them and temporarily paralyze them in place. Then using some wire, rope, and a conductive sheet of metal that I planned on purchasing after I cleaned up this place a little bit, I was going to ambush them with a makeshift cage. Then interrogate them using some shocks of lightning as incentive to answer me…" I mutter quietly looking at the ground. Sensing his anger diminish some, I glanced up to see Kurama shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Aside from being blatantly suicidal, your plan has some merit…if it were thought out fully…" Kurama sighed and crossed his arms as he looked down his nose at me. I could tell that he was thinking it over himself and that made me perk just a little bit. If I could get Kurama to "ok" my madness, then that meant I actually was beginning to outwit my opponents. Which could easily turn the tables in my favor. I leaned in closer to him when he sighed heavily and looked at me seriously, "Alright. I'm willing to help with your plan so long as we fix a few minor details and you allow me to…improve on a few certain points."

"Deal! We can discuss it while we clean!" I laughed feeling better than I had in couple of days. We set to work on pulling the room back together and trashing the things that were beyond saving, like my couch that had been ripped in two and would have to tell Koenma that the walls would need some fixing. Kurama explained some finer points in my own plan while I scrubbed the blood off the walls and even told me of the perfect plant that he had in mind for this particular plan. As we continued to clean and talk, I figured out something that would work even better. If I split my power in half and used the doppelganger as a distraction, the siblings would be more likely to attack and fall into the trap. Now, all that was left was nailing down the things to get the plan accomplished and regaining enough strength to effectively deal with them if things went astray. The plant that Kurama would give me would knock them far enough off their game that I could easily put them down like the dogs they were. Just as we finished up cleaning what we could at the apartment, we sat down to a cup of Oolong tea and me writing down the provisions I would need Kurama to secure for me while I rested up. In the meantime, I could sense Hiei just outside the apartment building, waiting.

"So," I stated casually causing Kurama to glance at me curiously over the kitchen table, "…when do you think Hiei will step foot in my apartment again?"

Kurama merely chuckled, "I'm sure you'll have your chance to speak with him once I leave. He…took your incident with Azra and Morte a little too personally. What were his words again? Oh yes… "If that damn onna hadn't been so focused on such trivial quarrels she might've had the good sense to get out of there before becoming a useless punching bag." I think I remembered that right."

"So it becomes my fault?" I laughed in astonishment.

"Naturally. Is there anything else I should get you while I'm out? A pint of chocolate ice cream perhaps? Or maybe a new couch to be thrown over?" Kurama smiled causing a very subtle vein to pulse on my forehead.

"Thank you for your humor, my friend. Now kindly remove yourself from my home before my foot up your ass does it for you," I growled rubbing the side of my head. Apparently, Kurama had spent far too much time with Hiei and the rest of the guys. He was beginning to gain their shared amusement at my expense. The kitsune merely waved his hand dismissively and left the apartment to get the things I had asked him to. I was surprised when told me not to worry about the costs of it. He would take care of everything, but when I asked him what he meant, he just smiled. I bit the corner of my mouth and twisted my face in annoyance. I was so tired of them all knowing so much more than me…and then rubbing it in my face.

After he left, I returned to my tea and waited. I wouldn't need to invite him in. Hiei knew how to get in without my help. It didn't take long for me to hear his feet softly land on the carpet and the window shut. Then he moved into the kitchen where I was. I reached out for another mug and just as I was pouring him tea, Hiei walked into the kitchen. At first he merely stared at me and then I held out the cup of tea to him saying, "Here…It calms hot-headedness."

"Hn. Then it would seem you need as much as you can get," Hiei responded, but took the cup nonetheless. We sat down at the kitchen table and silently drank. Finally it got to be too much and I put my cup down.

"Listen Hiei…the things I said back on the island…I didn't…I didn't mean them ok? I was angry and…spoke carelessly. Also…I should've have thrown the jewel at your face…That was uncalled for," I stammered out in a rush. I felt better after apologizing, but I realized that I could not undo what I had already done and frankly, I didn't blame Hiei if he would forever hold that over my head. So I was surprised when he reached across the table and plopped something down in front of me. I blinked and picked it up. It was a small, humble package of a brown paper bag with the opening rolled down near the end. It was tied closed with some string and just by holding it I could tell there was a small square box inside and a small bottle that reminded me of medicine. Yet just as I went to open it, however Hiei stood and began to make his way out of the apartment. I stood up and held my hand up to him saying, "Wait, Hiei! Don't go yet…"

"I have some business I need to take care of. However those herbs will help regain your Demon Energy. Try not to do anything stupid and stay two steps ahead of those siblings. I'll be back to check if you're still alive later," Hiei replied swiftly leaving the room. Just before he left through the window, I heard the faintest whisper, "The answer to a question you asked a while back…that I never answered…Yes."

I froze on the spot and blinked. In that second, Hiei was gone and when I came around the doorway, the window was closed, effectively leaving me alone. The only question that came to my mind was when I asked him if he created tear jewels when he cried…I spun around and threw myself at the package, somehow opening it without shredding it to bits. Instantly, I placed the herbs gently on the table and picked up the small box. After turning it over in my hands a couple of times, I had the stomach to pull it open and froze on the spot.

There resting on a cloth was the black jewel that I had thrown at Hiei's face, but it wasn't just a normal jewel anymore. Now, it had a little base set of it that had a dark crimson and black cord running through it. I stammered in shock. Not only had he returned the jewel back to me, but he put it on a cord so that I could wear it as a necklace. My free hand wandered to my locket and without even thinking about it, I quickly added the new necklace to join my locket and hid them both beneath my shirt. After standing in the kitchen with a goofy smile plastered on my face for a couple of minutes, I turned my attention to the herbs Hiei had provided me. Despite the fact that he had been the one to give them to me, I was almost sure that ultimately they came from Kurama and the neat scrawl describing how to use them confirmed that the kitsune had something to do with it. Feeling renewed and happier than I had since the fight with Hiei, I set to work on brewing a single dose of the herbs into another glass of Oolong Tea and upon taking the first sip, already felt the power beginning to flare in my veins. However, it was strange that none of the power in my messed up arm even reacted to the herbs that I was taking. I wrinkled my brow in thought. Was it possible that what happened to my arm before, was now making it difficult for my Demon Energy to even work?

I yawned slightly and glanced at the time. Realistically, it would take Kurama only a couple of hours to get the things I asked him to get and we had effectively cleaned the entire apartment. All that was left for me to do was rest and regain my strength while I waited. So, I headed back to the bedroom and quickly changed into a set of my own clothes. I folded up the ones I had unwittingly borrowed from Astuko's apartment and spread out along the bed. As soon as my head touched the pillow, I was out like a light.

_-A Few Hours Later-_

There was a soft knock at the door to my apartment. After growling and dragging myself off the bed, I trudged down the hall to answer it. There stood Kurama with a variety of different bags. I arched my eyebrows. I knew for a fact he had gotten some things that had not been on my list. I stepped aside and watched him put them down on the table in the kitchen. Closing the door and locking it behind him, I called out, "So, I take it that not only did you make my plan more effective, but most likely more full-proof so that even someone like me couldn't screw it up."

"Of course," Kurama chuckled with a mischievous smile. Scowling somewhat I put my hands on my hips. The red-head shrugged and went to placing the things on the table as he continued, "As far as I'm concerned Rin, you have this coming considering every time you leave the group you get into trouble. In a sense, Hiei was right to be concerned about you, although his way of approaching the subject was flawed. Taking that into consideration, I am surprised that he was so willing to let you go about on this crusade. Speaking of, how did those herbs work for you? Supposing you took the correct dosage and the time you rested, I would imagine that you're nearly back to your old self correct?"

"Hmm…Almost…For some reason my right arm seemed to be disconnected from the rest of my aura and my Youki hasn't been able to heal it. Other than that, I seem to be otherwise healed from my previous injuries…How bad exactly was I when I collapsed in the apartment?" I asked dodging the matter that Hiei may have had a point. Kurama noticed this, but humored me nonetheless.

"You had slight burns about your body. Nothing serious considering you had already begun to heal them, your right arm, as you know was broken, and your left leg was broken, while your right merely had fractures. You had various other breaks and cuts about your body, but apparently your stubborn nature had already set itself on healing yourself. While you were better off than you were after your fight with Morte in the tournament, we were still concerned that there could still be complications. Luckily, that was not the case," Kurama answered as he reached for the herbs I had placed on the table and prepared another dose. I sat down at the table and absently looked over the things he had bought. Hiei was still on the forefront of my mind.

"How did he handle what happened when I left?" I asked quietly bowing my head in shame.

"Ah, that. Well, he was stunned, needless to say. As soon as he realized what you had thrown at him however, he closed up and refused to even speak with me on the matter. I have never seen him act like that and until he found me saying that something had happened to you, Hiei wasn't speaking to any of us. I'm inclined to think that you hit a sensitive spot that not many know of," Kurama replied as he placed the cup of tea in front of me. I obediently went to drinking it and thought over what I had done… I doubt Hiei knew even how to react when I threw that jewel…his jewel in his face and he knew that I knew what it was…that was why I had clung onto it after all… The kitsune sat in the seat beside me and began arranging the tools in front of me as well as a detailed piece of paper that told me exactly how to set the trap, step-by-step. I cocked my head to the side as I inspected the paper. It all looked simple enough, but the end result was a cage that wouldn't exactly be easy to weasel out of and especially not after the stun spores that Kurama was going to let me use.

"I hope he doesn't hate me too much," I muttered running my hand through my choppy hair. Then I looked over the plans and thought of something, "Wait a minute, Kurama…do you plan for me to spring this trap in the warehouse they burned down after kidnapping me there?"

"I thought it would be appropriate. No humans are permitted in the area to interfere and the police have abandoned it, unable to figure out anything that happened to it. Plus the owners of the warehouse had foreclosed. At the time of the fire, no one cared about the building. So it's the perfect place to exact the taste of revenge you have planned. Not to mention you can use the ash and debris to your advantage in concealing all of this," Kurama said with a knowing smile. I shook my head at him and laughed. So we poured over the plan in detail and Kurama lead me through everything I would need to do and how I would react. There was a chance that I would accidentally breathe in some of the stun spores so he placed the antidote in my hands and I hooked it onto my belt, where it would be easy to access.

"I have to do this alone, because if they sense someone else, they won't come…but on the chance they…retaliate, would there be some way for me to reach any of you? After all, Morte smothered my ability to get a hold of you guys last time. What happens if she does it again?" I asked tilting my head to the side.

"I was wondering when you would think of that. We've already planned for that. Hiei went to the warehouse prior and set a little trigger of his own that will alert him if Morte's eye is in current use. I don't quite understand how it works, but if the same thing were to happen again, we will arrive shortly and aid you in any way we can," Kurama answered reassuring me. I flushed in surprise. Despite what had happened between us, he still was there for me.

"Thank you, Kurama," I smiled appreciatively.

"Happy to help. Now I'll leave you to your devices and remember, if you find yourself in trouble, do let us know. I'll be waiting to see how this goes," Kurama said patting my head as he left. I growled somewhat at being treated like a child, but figured, until I turned the tables of Morte and Azra, I had it coming. So, I quickly finished off the tea and packed up the supplies. Then while I was thinking about it, I subdued my aura and hid it to the best of my ability. Then I darted out of the apartment to head to my destination, the very warehouse I had been ruthlessly beaten not even three days ago.

As soon as I stepped up to it, the smell of ashes was so thick that I nearly choked. I looked over and saw that the flames Morte had used were so hot that a lot of the steal and metal that made up the structure had begun to melt. There were piles of charred boxes and I immediately looked to the ladder I had climbed to reach safety. It was now melted and there would be no way for anyone to climb up it once more. After a little more inspecting the place, I realized that it was a great idea to use this place. It was close to where the group could get me, but the fire had effectively caused all humans to avoid it like the plague. Even humans could sense there was something unnatural about it. Jitters caused me to tremble in anxiousness, but I pushed it aside and set to work on rigging everything up the exact way Kurama had taught me to. The spores were easy enough to conceal on top of the metal plate with all the ashes on the ground and the wires, cords, and other things to snap the cage up when it was triggered blended in perfectly with the surroundings. After setting everything up, I stepped back to review my handiwork.

"Not half bad," I mused, almost proud of what I had done. I looked up at the sky and noticed that the sun was beginning to set. Night time would be the perfect time to set the trap and I set to work on fixing up a hiding place for me to use until the exact moment when I would reveal what I was doing. That took about thirty minutes and by the time I was done, it was dark and the perfect time to set the trap. So I focused all my power together and considering I had already done it twice before, it was getting even easier to split my power and put half of it into a doppelganger. Proud of myself once again, I made the copy of me stand exactly in the perfect spot to be ambushed and it made its power pulse out, luring the siblings to me.

I didn't have to wait long. Soon I heard Morte's silk like voice laughing and Azra appeared directly in front of the doppelganger before backslapping it to the ground. I winced somewhat and watched as Morte stood directly behind the doppelganger. Azra clucked his tongue contemptuously as he said, "You know pup, after what happened to you the last time we met, I am disappointed that you would rush into a confrontation such as this. Especially as weak as you are. Did you even try to recover yourself before attempting to call us out?"

"I'm inclined to doubt it. The pup here was never good at actually planning things out before jumping into battle. It's sad really," Morte cackled as she slammed her foot down on the stomach of the doppelganger. At that moment the two of them moved into the perfect position and the doppelganger sprung the trap before dissipating and reabsorbing into my own body. I stood from my hiding spot as the stun spores flew into the air around them and the wires hummed as they positioned themselves. Kurama's plan worked perfectly and once everything had calmed, a makeshift cage surrounded the siblings and the inside of the cage was like the web of a spider, wound tightly around them keeping them in place. The two didn't even know what hit them and the second they breathed in the spores, their nervous systems froze and according to Kurama would stay that way for at least two hours.

"So what did you think of this plan, Morte? I had a plan this time!" I called out, taking a dose of the antidote before I walked into plain view of the siblings. The two glared at me from their position and I crossed my arms over my chest in satisfaction.

"So you finally got smart. I do believe a miracle descended," Azra snorted causing me to flush in anger.

"I've had enough of your mouth," I snapped rearing back and launching a ball of electricity into the cage. The next thing I heard was Azra and Morte giving out brief, but loud exclamations of pain as the electricity shocked them relentlessly through the conductive cords that wound all around their bodies. It was over soon after and I growled, "This time, the game is played by my rules and I have questions. You're going to answer me or I will sit here electrocuting you until either I get them, or your hair will permanently stand on end from static. Your choice and now your move. What's it gonna be?"

Oh it was so nice holding all the cards in my own hands for once. Sweet, sweet revenge.

_-Until Next Time-_

_**ME:**_** While Kurama has been spending too much time with the other guys, Rin has been picking up on some of the kitsune's wit. Maybe if she keeps this up she'll start winning these things by herself.**

_**Kurama:**_** That was indeed a slick plan. Definitely not something we'd expect from Rin.**

_**ME:**_** Yeah Yeah Yeah. Well I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Drop me a review and let me know what you think. Thanks again for reading and I'll see you next time!**


	38. Into The Fourth Dimension

_**ME:**_** Alright sorry about that little break people. I'm back and swinging full force. **

_**Kurama:**_** It would seem that you got quite a stir from that last chapter.**

_**ME:**_** I would hope so. After all Rin did something that not many saw coming XD**

_**Yusuke:**_** So…(looks over at the room still holding Ghost and Hiei) **

_**ME:**_** Nope, not yet. Please kindly say the disclaimer Kuwabara.**

_**Kuwabara:**_** The only thing the authoress owns is her characters. She does not own Yu-Yu Hakusho.**

_**ME:**_** (smiles) Thank you very much. Alright without further delay, onto the chapter. Here We GO!**

_-Chapter Start-_

_**Chapter 38: Into the Fourth Dimension**_

"I've had enough of your mouth," I snapped rearing back and launching a ball of electricity into the cage. The next thing I heard was Azra and Morte giving out brief, but loud exclamations of pain as the electricity shocked them relentlessly through the conductive cords that wound all around their bodies. It was over soon after and I growled, "This time, the game is played by my rules and I have questions. You're going to answer me or I will sit here electrocuting you until either I get them, or your hair will permanently stand on end from static. Your choice and now your move. What's it gonna be?"

Oh it was so nice holding all the cards in my own hands for once. Sweet, sweet revenge.

Morte fixed me with a deadly glare and Azra merely looked down his nose. It was plain as day that despite the fact they couldn't do anything about the situation they were in, the siblings were still under the impression that they had a sense of control. Due to this they were effectively silent and I sighed. It seemed I would have to pry the information I wanted out of them. Although I would never verbally admit to it, that was just fine by me. I ran my hand through my hair before looking at them and saying, "I have no qualms with drawing this out because I know you would not spare me a similar hell. Why should I do it for you then? Now, tell me, why did you bring me here to this world and why did you want me to kill Yusuke Urameshi?"

Azra's eyes flashed threateningly and Morte merely bit down on her lip stubbornly. Without hesitating, I sent another violent current of electricity coursing through their bodies. There were cries of pain through their grit teeth and I waited for almost a full minute before letting up. As I did so, I tightened the bindings around them and made sure the powder was still going to keep them in place for some time. That taken into account, I knew I only had so much time before something went their way. I waited another minute more in quiet and then reached out to shock them again, this time increasing the time to two minutes. When it ended, Azra growled in frustration and stated, "I didn't know you had it in you to be so ruthless, pup. I underestimated you."

"Unfortunately, this is something you two made possible for me to accomplish, as much as that disgusts me to say. Now, I repeat, why am I here and why did you want me to kill Yusuke Urameshi?!" I snapped, beginning to lose my patience. It bothered me to admit that they had change me in such a way, but when I thought about it, I could easily just blame it on Hiei later to shrug it off. Hell, I could even blame it on Toguro and the extended contact I had with him. There were many things to contribute to my new personality.

"Very well, I'll oblige this until I see it fit to do otherwise. I brought you into this world to keep a closer eye on you consider its far easier to keep you under my thumb. As for Yusuke Urameshi, I wanted to see if you could get close to him on your own. Once you had, I knew you had the perfect opportunity to do it. It's a shame you were too weak to follow through. A disappointment that I will be sure to remedy soon," Morte hissed dangerously. I arched my eyebrow. Interesting. She knew that Yusuke would prove to be a hindrance in her plans, but by the sounds of it, doubted that she would have the chance to put him down. That being said she needed someone else to be in the perfect position to do so and that meant…using me in more ways than one.

"Why did you need to keep an eye on me? Does it have something to do with the Yin-Yang Eye?" I inquired with a curious step forward. Morte and Azra's eyebrows both arched and I knew that I hit the nail on the head. Now, if only I could get them to tell me what the Yin-Yang Eye was exactly and why…why there was that voice in my head whenever I seemed to lose control. However, I wasn't going to tell them about that. All I needed to do was pull enough out of them to speculate and guess at my own thoughts.

"Indeed, the Yin-Yang Eye has a great deal to do with it. Considering that you, for whatever joke of a reason there is, are the key to getting to it. We have to make sure that you're easily within grasp, pup," Azra said with a demonic smirk. Chills raced through my spine and I had a feeling that my walking around on my own volition was not what he had in mind. I shuddered to think what he would've done if he had a choice in what became of my freedom. I suppose I had to be glad that it was Morte that I had mostly been dealing with up until this point. Azra was a highly volatile variant in the equation that I doubted even Morte could full control. That meant not only would I have to watch my own back, but very possibly my fellow teammates' backs as well.

"Koenma thought that his father had destroyed it. How is it that the two of you knew otherwise if he had kept so tight a lock on that secret?" I asked titling my head to the side.

"Well…considering our lives and beings are so tightly connected to it, we would've known the instant someone had even tried to harm it. Besides, Koenma's father was too far intrigued by the power of the Yin-Yang Eye itself. That fool wouldn't have done anything until he had a better chance to examine it, but he couldn't just have it out in the open. After all that would be irresponsible of the King of the Rekai now wouldn't it? No, he had to keep it within his reach and yet hidden so no one else but him could find it. He thought he was clever and for a time, he guarded his secret well…until we got a hold of the information. Then we decided to play a game and infiltrate his little fortress. No one even knew we were there and after we destroyed his only way of keeping track of his secret, we displaced his hiding place. It was with great discipline that we didn't take it back right then and there, but we waited until the opportune moment, knowing the comfort that no one else could get in our way," Morte replied with a hint of…maniacal like lunacy reaching her very core. I steadied my breathing and calmed my racing thoughts. If these two could play Koenma's father for a fool, just how powerful were they? Or better yet, how lucky were they? I balled my fists. It made sense now how they continued to beat me all to hell and back if they could run around directly under Koenma's father's nose and not get caught. It would seem…that I really was a mere "pup" in comparison to them…I grit my teeth. That would be something that I would indeed have to change.

"What is the Yin-Yang Eye? Why am I the key to getting to it?" I asked in frustration. Morte threw her head back and laughed, causing anger to flare in my chest. Wordlessly, I went right back to shocking them, if for no better reason just because they pissed me off. This time I let it go for five minutes before I stepped away and began thinking over the situation myself. The powder would only last so much longer and I needed them to see if there was a chance…that I could get home. I turned back on the two of them as Azra seemed to have finally lost his patience. Despite the plant's effect still weighing heavy on his system, a dark fire surrounded him and his sister. I immediately leapt back to safety and released an explosion of lightning to surround their fire as well, "I'm not done with you two yet!"

"We're done with your games pup!" Azra howled as I watched them move away from the conductive cords I had wrapped around them. I doubled back to a somewhat safe distance and watched as Azra moved to place his sister on the ruble of a fallen wall. Once his hands were free, I tensed and began pulsing lightning around myself protectively. I was bound and determined not to give into them without a fight…It was then that I sensed Hiei's aura flare somewhere nearby. A smirk curled at my lips, that bastard had been watching the entire time. He was on the way too. Yet before he got there, Azra was right in my face and lifted me clean off my feet by grabbing my throat. I stared at him in shock as he held me there, but amazingly enough, didn't tighten his grip. It was then that I realized what was going on. He was fighting with everything he had to keep his body moving. No doubt they worked together to break the bounds around them and now were wearing down. He surely sensed Hiei approaching and was going to make one last stand against me. I prepared for the worst and listened as he said, "The Yin-Yang Eye is something that the two of us created to hold all the power in the Makai and only the two of us have rights to it. However, those meddling fools snatched it from our grasp and hid the key to getting it back within your little bloodline. So we waited and watched, until the perfect moment to attack. That was you. So hear this and hear it well, child, your time is limited and you're stuck here until my sister breathes her last breath and so long as I'm around, you're just shit out of luck."

With that he landed one well-placed punch to my gut and dropped me to double over on the ground in pain. It wasn't long before the two of them were gone and I was left alone…for the moment anyway. Coughing and sputtering curses, I got to my feet. There was a twinge in my injured pride. How was it that those two could have me running in circles like a dog chasing its own tail through a maze without even the slightest effort, but be damned if I could do the same thing. That was frustrating as hell. I twisted my mouth in a frown and began looking over the sprung trap, wondering if perhaps it had been my fault that they escaped so quickly. After all, Kurama promised that the plant would paralyze them for some time, which would mean that it had been user error that caused them being able to fight it so effectively. Holding my stomach gingerly, I heard someone else make the scene. I glanced over my shoulder to see Hiei standing there at the edge of the warehouse with his hands hidden away in his cloak. His dark eyes were watching me carefully, and I merely went about looking over everything, doing my damnedest not to say something stupid…considering I had done plenty of that already.

"Hn…it would seem they felt this was too dangerous a situation for them to linger around. My trigger is untouched…Morte didn't even have a chance to activate her eye," he mused quietly to himself. I pouted somewhat and turned to face him as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"If that's the case, then why could they still run away? The trap was meant to keep them in place longer than that…and yet Azra still made me look like a fool. It's like no matter what…no matter how strong I can become, they'll leave me in the destruction that follows in their wake," I snapped furiously as I kicked the remains of the bindings that held the siblings.

"Stop with the whining self-pity. If you had paid any attention whatsoever you would see how desperate their retreat was. It was likely that Morte could not handle the powder and that Azra used all the control he had over himself to get her away from it. From what I was sensing as I made my way over here, he over exerted himself and it may be some time before they approach you again. Though you did not win any wars, I would be willing to say there are quite a few more battles to claim under your belt," Hiei said distantly as he walked over to me. His eyes were focused on practically everything, but my own being as he said, "It would be wise for you to be heading back to your apartment now. Best not to push your luck."

"Heh…alright. I expect you to walk me home then," I said nonchalantly as I walked right past him and moved out of the warehouse perimeter. Without looking back, I continued walking down the street and it wasn't long before the fire apparition fell into step behind me. Though my stomach still hurt from the punch that I had suffered from Azra, I had a bit of a brisk stride. Things would never be…well normal between Hiei and I, but it was good to know that he would always have my back. I glanced back over my shoulder at him and saw that he was faintly watching my actions. A devious smirked played across my lips and I winked at him before prancing even further ahead. His reaction was priceless and before he had a chance to properly react, I spun around a corner and then came to an abrupt stop. Hiei nearly crashed right into me, but gracefully moved to stand at my side and look ahead to what had caught my attention. His face betrayed none of his thoughts but he arched his eyebrow questioningly at me.

Walking toward us, not even a half a block down, stood a group of guys that…I recognized. It was the exact same group of blockheads that I had encountered before I had been knocked unconscious in the warehouse by Hiei…and right in the middle was the freak whose nose I had broken. Instantly we locked eyes with each other and he paused his group's movement to point me out. They likewise recognized me and after a few words shared amongst themselves, they continued our way with purpose. An astonished smirk replaced my earlier devious one and I laughed as I ran a hand through my hair saying, "Well this is going to be fun. Hiei, meet the bastards who tried to have a little fun with me in a way I didn't quite appreciate back when we first were acquainted. See the ugly bastard I the middle? I broke his nose…and I guess they still hold that against me. I think I should finish what I started a while back. Go ahead and watch if you would like."

With that said I strode forward with my mind focusing on the fun at hand. There was no doubt in my mind that beating these guys up would be like fighting children now. They were nothing compared to the things I saw with the Saint Beasts…they were nothing compared to the demons I faced in the Dark Tournament… And they were nothing compared to Toguro, Morte, and Azra. This would be an easy fight. With practically no effort even needed. After all, they were pathetic humans…nothing more.

"Well, well, well, look who it is. The bitch that decided to bust my nose in. I swore that if I ever saw you again, I'd mark-up that average little face of yours. Now I have that chance, but I can still have some fun with you while I do it. C'mon boys. This bitch is ripe for our taking," he growled as he reached out and grabbed my shoulder tightly. I smirked and tilted my head to the side. My hands subconsciously balled into fists and I resisted the urge to deck him right there.

"Is that a challenge? If it is, I give you one warning. Walk away…or you and your boys won't be able to get up and you'll spend a while in the hospital. You have been warned," I stated flatly as I arched my eyebrows at him. His buddies began laughing and my gall to challenge him seemed to piss the man off. He drew back his fist and landed a punch square across the middle of my face. It stung…but it didn't hurt nearly enough to cause me to even blink. My head moved with the flow of his attack, but ultimately, I could brush it off in a manner of seconds. I turned to face him once again and merely shook my head, "You've made your bed. Now lay in it you ugly bastard!"

The next move of mine was the equivalent of a Spartan kick…straight to his groin. The man howled as he released me and I noticed both of his friends running at me. Sighing, I darted off to my right and slammed my elbow into the nearest lackey. Without giving him a chance to think about doubling over, I swept his feet out from under him and watched as he cracked his head against the pavement. The way his head bounced against the ground in quick secession made me wince, but disregard him entirely. He was down and would not be getting up anytime soon. After all, he had a concussion that sure as hell wouldn't let up for about a month. So instead I turned to the second and was surprised to see that I was no longer fighting alone. Hiei was standing before the second man, with his hand wrapped around the human's wrist and twisting it so that he was on his knees. I arched my eyebrow at the scene, somewhat surprised at Hiei's almost chivalrous actions. Yet just as I turned to get a better view of it all, the other bastard got over the blow to his groin and jumped up behind me. In a flurry of movement that was somewhat impressive for a mere human, he was behind me with one arm around my throat and the other twisting my arm behind my back. Though the circumstance was uncomfortable, it wasn't anything that had me too concerned. He was poorly balanced and still shaking from the blow to his groin. It would be relatively easy to knock him out of the fight.

"Well, well, well, it seems like this man has a death warrant," I muttered quietly to myself as Hiei quickly dispatched the other male into unconsciousness. Then the black haired apparition turned and arched his eyebrow at the guy holding me in place.

"If you don't want anything to happen to her, I would suggest you get on your knees quietly and don't fight. You're gonna pay for what you did to my buddies and the first one to start with will be this bitch!" the moron practically screamed in my ear. I winced at the sound of his voice and looked over at Hiei in annoyance.

"What are you waiting for baka onna? I'm a demon remember? Don't expect me to run to save you. After all this is your own mess," the swordsman said causing me to sigh somewhat.

"I supposed you might actually rush to my aid. Oh well," I laughed before throwing my elbow back into the man's gut. His grip loosened up and I reached up to grab his arms. Executing a perfect one-armed shoulder Judo throw, I sent the bastard flying to the ground. Instantly I pounced on him with my knee in the middle of his sternum and laid one good punch into the middle of his face. He howled like a wounded animal and I merely pressed my knee further into his chest as I leaned down to be mere inches away from his face, "Listen moron…I have dealt with plenty since the last time we encountered one another and the fights I've been in would make you wet yourself in fear. A coward and worthless piece of shit like you wouldn't even manage to stay sane after it. So, unless you want me to show you what real hell is like, just pick up your buddies and get out of here. Grow up to be real men and don't walk around like childish little thugs. There are worse things that go bump in the night that would kill you without a moment's hesitation. Make something worth of your life instead of walking into that."

I slammed one more punch into the middle of his face before getting to my feet and dusting myself off. Then I looked back to Hiei and we both silently made our way down the street toward my apartment. As we walked, I stretched my arms and felt content at what had just happened. Perhaps those guys would run away with their tails between their legs like wounded puppies or might even change their outlook on life. Soon we stood outside the building and I shoved my hands into my pocket. As always, this would be where we parted ways. Hiei turned to me and said, "Do try not to get yourself into any more trouble baka onna. It proves to be aggravating to the rest of us to continue to save you."

"Yeah yeah yeah. I got it. Go ahead and let Kurama know how his fine tuning of my plan worked out alright? See you whenever I see you," I waved at him dismissively and turned to walk into the building. I swiftly made my way up to my own apartment and slipped through the door to lock it behind me. My eyes surveyed the dark room carefully and I didn't even bother turning on the light. I bit down on the corner of my lip and moved over to the couch. I plopped down on it and kicked my shoes off. It wasn't long before I was asleep.

-_Sometime Later_-

There was a knock on the door. I winced. The sun was shining through the windows and my head was throbbing painfully. Growling softly, I rolled off the couch and landed on my knees. The incessant knocking only worsened and I hissed while getting to my feet, "I hear you! Don't break down the door or I swear I'll be pissed!"

Stomping over to it, I unlocked the door and threw it open…only to nearly swallow my own tongue in shock. There stood Kaito, Yanagisawa, and Kido. I blinked and gaped at the trio, unable to speak. I knew what their powers were and I knew what they were going to do with my fellow comrades due to what Genkai wanted. I also knew that they had caught me by surprise and by doing so, they had the upper hand. I darted back away from them and darted to the side, making sure that my shadow fell away from Yanagisawa. I snatched the blanket I had laying across the couch and threw it over the window and reached for my weapons, tensing for whatever the hell the three of them had planned…that is until the three of them stepped away from the doorway and threw their hands up in the air.

"What…the…hell?" I muttered darkly tilting my head to the side.

"We're not here to pull anything underhanded or trick you. Genkai made us blatantly aware of your position and she told us to ask you to please come with us before we make our presence known to the rest of them. Genkai would prefer that you were not among them. They might use your knowledge instead of their own. It would entirely defeat the purpose of what she is trying to do," Kaito said calmly causing me to arch my eyebrow.

"Uh…huh…how interesting," I said relaxing somewhat and straightening up. I gestured for the three of them to come in and they slowly walked in. Kido shut the door behind them and after another gesture from me, they took seats in my living room. There was an awkward silence that fell and I ran my hand through my hair. All of us seemed to be on pins and needles, so I sighed and broke the silence, "Would any of you like something to drink? Tea?"

"No…" Kaito answered hesitantly. I watched their reactions carefully and I smirked.

"So riddle me this. Genkai made you aware of…everything about me didn't she? As to my knowledge of the future situations and everything else correct?" I asked with a smirk. Their eyes all widened in shock and it was Yanagisawa who slowly nodded his head first. I laughed and I plopped myself down on the chair away from them and crossed my arms as I said, "So I suppose you're a bit curious as to what's going to happen now aren't you? Especially with your upcoming encounter with my group of friends, am I right?"

"Well…yeah you could say that. We haven't had a lot of time to be around Master Genkai and she seems very focused on bringing the others up to the level she sees them to be at," Kido said scratching the back of his head thoughtfully.

"Indeed and the fact that she wishes to use us as a means to prove that they are lacking is indeed interesting, but even more so the fact that you seem to know how everything will go, including our upcoming encounter with your friends," Kaito stated staring at me intently. I smirked somewhat revealing my right top canine.

"So I suppose you would like me to tell you about the things I seem coming the future, correct?" I inquired looking at my hand distantly with a small knowing smile. Before Kaito even had a chance to respond, it was Yanagisawa that intervened.

"Actually we're supposed to be getting to find Yusuke Urameshi now. Genkai wanted us to give you this and would prefer it if you were to head there as soon as possible. She said that you would not keep her waiting," Yanagisawa said as he pulled an envelope from his pocket. He handed it over to me and I took it from him with a smile. Kaito seemed a bit disgruntled at the chance of not being able to pick my brain but the other two quickly distracted him as they got to their feet. I bid them farewell and said that I would see them soon enough. As I closed the door behind them, I thought over how weird that little encounter was, but shrugged it off. What else was there to expect when Genkai was involved anyway? After all she had quite the unnatural way of throwing curveballs at her disciples…and of course I was no exception to this.

"There's no way in hell that I'm going to head into whatever that old bat wants to do without some food first," I muttered darkly as I walked into my kitchen and started to prepare some food. While I sat down to eat, I laid the envelope out in front of me and stared at it intently while chewing on a bite. It was like the paper was evil…or a death warrant…and by opening that devilish item I was condemning myself to some strange sort of hell…and the worst part is while I could easily foresee what would happen to my other comrades my own fate was far more…murky. I growled somewhat and laid my chin on the table and threw my arms over my head, peaking out from the crook of my elbow at the white paper. I hissed at it in protest and groaned, wishing that for once I could've been spared whatever the hell Genkai had planned. I finished eating and threw the dishes into the sink, before jumping into the shower. As far as I saw it, I could take as much time as I wanted. Whatever that old hag had in store was going to come hell or high water. Might as well be somewhat presentable when it happened. That way Genkai could properly beat me to disarray.

Finally, after doing all the small preparations and not being able to hold off any longer, I snatched the envelope off the table and perched myself on the edge of it as I opened it to reveal the contents. Wasting no time or effort, Genkai merely wrote the address, minimal directions, and instructions upon entering the building that she expected me to follow to the letter. I sweat-dropped and grumbled as I walked out the door; hooking my chakram securely on my hips. I locked the door and slipped the key into a hidden pocket. Then I made my way out of the building and started toward the address Genkai had written down for me. I sighed somewhat and paused at a bus station, thinking over the routes, which was beginning to make sense to me now. As it would turn out, there would be a bus that would stop just a few blocks down from mansion and it would end up being just a short walk. The best part was the bus would be arriving at any moment. So I calmly waited and boarded the next bus that pulled up. Noticing a few older people joining the busy public transportation, I moved to a standing spot and took hold of the hanging grips. It was crowded as hell and full of people from the ages of middle school all the way to older people I was surprised that could even make it out and about as they were. As we began moving, I stared out at the window and found myself thinking back on my last couple of weeks at home…

It was so quiet compared to what I was used to experiencing now…A car accident looked tame to my current situation. I sighed and closed my eyes. It was hard not to be homesick. While I was constantly caught up in one thing or another to keep me busy here, I wondered if my mom was still doing alright. I never knew how much I would miss her…and my other friends as well… It wasn't like I was alone here though. The guys…and girls were always there to take care of me and had my back, but there was something… I couldn't fill not being around my family and the friends I had back home. I opened my eyes and looked out at the road as the bus came to a stop, letting some people off and even more onto it. I watched as a group of school girls stood at the corner of a block, chattering about only God knows what. They flicked their hair obliviously and shifted their school bags from side to side absentmindedly as they continued to talk. The bus jumped into action once again, and I looked around to bus to see a mother sitting down with a baby in her arms and a three year old little girl sitting beside her. The toddler was holding a stuffed rabbit close to her chest and her dark brown eyes were darting along the bus, no doubt trying to find something to keep herself entertained while her mother was focusing on the fussing baby in her arms.

She locked her eyes on me and I smiled kindly at her before look up at the upcoming stop. Back home, I would usually play with any kid that made eye contact with me, but…now that I wasn't exactly…human here, I was a little more hesitant to do that anymore. It was then that I noticed the upcoming stop would be mine. I shuffled somewhat as the bus came to a stop and moved to get off of the bus. However, just as I was stepping off, my foot caught on someone's back and instead of stepping off the bus, I pitched forward into a spectacularly clumsy flip right off the bus…and landed flat on my ass. My face flared through twenty different shades of red as I heard the bus driver call down to make sure that I was alright. Covering my face and standing I called over my shoulder, "I'm just peachy…no worries…Please just go about your route…please!"

With a snort and a chortle, the man closed the doors and the bus squealed into motion behind me. Feeling absolutely sick with embarrassment, I got to my feet and kept my head down as I marched down the block toward the address that Genkai gave me. It was like eyes were still boring into my back and I picked up the pace to a full out run. It wasn't long before I spun around the corner and caught sight of the mansion. Without even bothering to stop, I charged on forward and drove through the door, kicking it shut behind me. I skid into the entry way of the mansion and just shook my head, slowly feeling the blush beginning to recede. Once I was sure that I could control all of my emotions and reactions, I slowly got to my feet and began looking around at the mansion I had bull charged into…that was a bit out of character for me.

The first room and level of the mansion was Kaito's territory, but considering he wasn't in the mansion at that current moment, the taboo wasn't in place…but I kept my mouth shut all the same. It was better being safe than sorry. I walked forward, looking over the books and plants and tables and other things as I walked toward the door where Genkai's note told me my challenge would soon begin. I felt a strange feeling bubble in the middle of my chest. This mansion…I didn't fully understand it even while I watched the anime and read the manga back home. So now that I was stepping into it alone, knowing full well that Genkai had something specifically planned for me, made my heart flip in my chest. I slowly moved past the door and made my way through the hall, back to where the stairs would later split up the group and give Kido the chance to take the appearance of Kuwabara later on. As I moved to see the multiple stairways, I pulled the note from my pocket and unfolded it to read over the instructions once more.

"_You know which stairways your friends will go in when they arrive after you. So all that you have to do is choose the staircase that is specifically meant for you. Surely you're not so dimwitted enough to not figure out which one that will be…"_

My eyebrow twitched. Genkai always had a way of making me feel fantastic about myself. I crumbled the note in my hand and stuffed it into my pocket as I looked around at the doors. I quickly ruled out which ones Kurama, Hiei, Botan, and Kuwabara would walk through, and this left me with…three doors to choose from. Taking a deep breath, I took in the scene. From the manga, there were two other doors that the group didn't use. Thus, the third was an extra meant specifically for me…but which one was that? Scanning over them with my eyes and probing gently with my aura didn't tell me a damn thing. Finding out what Genkai meant was going to be a little more labor intensive.

"God damn, old hag…you sure don't make things easy," I muttered quietly to myself as I ran my hand through my hair. Maybe, it was time for my demonic instincts to find what my human couldn't. Taking a breath, I cleared my mind and delved a little deeper for my more primal instincts. It was hard to trigger it at first, and for a couple of minutes, I was just standing there in quiet, searching through my own mind looking for something I didn't quite understand. Then I hit it and flinched somewhat. The feeling was so dark, so instinctive, and so thoughtless that I didn't know what to do at first. Once the shock wore off however, I realized that this was the demonic instinct and nature that I was hoping to invoke. It was a bit chilling to me at first, but considering that's what I wanted, I delved right into it again. This time I didn't just hit it. I full out unleashed it.

The eruption of power was uncontrollable and at first, I couldn't figure out everything that I was sensing. It was flashing from door to door to door and my head was absolutely pounding. Rational thought was nearly impossible and it was strange how my body was seemingly moving on its own volition. What frightened me beyond all reason was what could possibly happen if I couldn't get back in control of these instincts. My lightning was sparking and flaring erratically around me and I staggered on my feet somewhat until it occurred to me. I spun on my heel and lunged at the door that was calling out to me. I flew through the threshold and pitched myself into the utter darkness. There was only one coherent thought that ran through my mind.

This old woman was going to be the death of me and here I was running right into it.

_-Chapter End-_

_**ME:**_** Well, there's that chapter. The next one will have a little more development on Rin and perhaps, she won't be such a damsel in distress anymore. I hope that will be a bit more to people's liking.**

_**Kurama:**_** So long as she seems to fit in around our group, it should be expected of her.**

_**ME:**_** Very true. However, this next chapter is going to be a little bit fun for me. Then we get into the thick of the next arc in the anime…wow, we've really been powering through it here haven't we? Not to mention I have the set up for the sequel to this story. :D I'm not done with this yet! See you all next chapter!**


	39. Power Up!

_**ME**__**:**_** Hmm…(looks over hands somewhat distantly before suddenly slamming hand down on a button that releases Hiei and Ghost from their prison. The two fall to the ground with a dull thud and continue to lay there not moving.) Welp, I guess it was about time to let them out…I've simmered long enough.**

_**Kurama:**_** That was…quite a fall they took…**

_**ME:**_** (Suddenly finds a spot on the floor exceedingly interesting) Yes, it's possible that they won't be fully coherent until right around the end of this chapter or even the next.**

_**Kurama:**_** So I would imagine that your point has been made correct?**

_**ME:**_** At least until they do something else that causes me to get rough with them.**

_**Yusuke:**_** So I imagine that you still need us to say the disclaimer then huh?**

_**ME:**_** That would be the plan yes. **

_**Yusuke:**_** She doesn't own Yu-Yu Hakusho, only the characters that she has created here.**

_**ME:**_** Alrighty then. Let's get this show on the road! I hope that you enjoy the twist in this chapter. I was beginning to have a little too much fun and I wasn't paying any attention to how long it was until after I finished writing…Oops. Tell me what you think!**

_-Chapter Start-_

_**Chapter 38: Power Up?**_

The eruption of power was uncontrollable and at first, I couldn't figure out everything that I was sensing. It was flashing from door to door to door and my head was absolutely pounding. Rational thought was nearly impossible and it was strange how my body was seemingly moving on its own volition. What frightened me beyond all reason was what could possibly happen if I couldn't get back in control of these instincts. My lightning was sparking and flaring erratically around me and I staggered on my feet somewhat until it occurred to me. I spun on my heel and lunged at the door that was calling out to me. I flew through the threshold and pitched myself into the utter darkness. There was only one coherent thought that ran through my mind.

This old woman was going to be the death of me and here I was running right into it.

The darkness began to change and there was this strange green aura surrounding me as I dashed up the staircase. The air seemed to thicken and as I continued on, it felt like it was getting harder and harder to breathe. Just when I was about to stop moving forward the staircase leveled out and I noticed the path veer off toward my right. Now the green aura was flashing and flaring all around me, almost like it was warning me of something. As it did that it was also drawing me further down the path. I slowly approached the turn and noticed that it suddenly just ended…there was nowhere else for me to go. I came to a stop and crossed my arms as I began to have a better control over the power surging through my body. Yet the more coherent thoughts began racing through my mind, the harder it was for me to keep the power at the forefront of my being. Instinct was dampened by rationalization. I stepped to the end of the ground and leaned over the edge to stare down my nose into the darkness below. There was something down there…no doubt whatever Genkai wanted me to face was resting down there just waiting for me. I wrinkled my nose at it for a minute before stepping back and flexing the demonic power coursing through my body. Pure instinct…instinctive emotion…fueled not by thought but the desire to act…Fascinating. If I could figure out how to master that sort of power…and still be in full control over my thought process, I would certainly be a force to truly be reckoned with…and Genkai surely knew that. She was too damn smart not to.

What little illusion or ploy could she have waiting for me in this Fourth Dimensional mansion…No doubt something she could pull together with the help of Koenma and the Reikai… I arched my eyebrow. Whatever was down there was going to be made specifically to battle me… Which once again placed me at a disadvantage. I had told Genkai quite a bit about myself…quite a bit indeed.

"Well…why not keep up the instinctive charge?" I laughed as I pulled the corner of my lip over my teeth in a wolfish snarl. After steadying myself I lunged forward and launched my body right off to plummet into the darkness. As I fell, something began wrapping itself around my arms and legs, following my descent. I thrashed against the strange bindings as they tightened around my entire body. Gasping as it curled around my sensitive arm, I hissed and began to call out a surge of lightning until something caught me square in the middle of my forehead, knocking me unconscious.

_-Later-_

"Come on! You're going be late for school! Wake up!" a very familiar voice hollered at me before I felt a large over-stuffed pillow smack right onto the top of my face. I shot into a sitting position and threw the assaulting object halfway across the room about to bite someone's head off. Just as I was about to say something though, my voice choked in the back of my throat and my eyes nearly bugged out of my head. Instead of falling into whatever hell I willingly jumped into at the Fourth Dimensional Mansion, I was lying in my bed back at home and my mom was standing over my bed with her arms crossed over her chest warningly. Her bright blue eyes that I often admired and wished that I had many times over again, were flashing mischievously at me. I opened and closed my mouth in utter shock for a few moments while she grinned evilly and reached out to grab the covers I was hiding beneath. In one fluid motion, she ripped them off and tossed them across the floor before strolling out of the room, whistling triumphantly. She paused at the door and called over her shoulder before disappearing, "Your breakfast and lunch are ready on the table. I've got to get to work. See you after school honey."

I stammered incoherently for a few minutes after her departure, but quickly snapped back to reality. I flew out of the bed and dashed over the standing mirror on the wall in my room and inspected myself closely. Once again my eyes were a dark brown instead of the blood red ones that I had seen before. My hair once again was past my shoulders and flying around wildly with bed head. There were no remnants of the world I had been in for the past months and as I looked around the room it was like I had never left…was it all just a dream? If so that was a very involved dream…I rubbed my stomach where Tenchi had run me straight through. Glancing over at the clock, I saw what time it was and squeaked as panic took over. I dove into my old routine, quickly showering, brushing hair, teeth and snatching clean clothes from my closet. Then I clumsily fell down the stairs and rushed into the kitchen where I would inhale my breakfast. As I went through this brainless task set, I was thinking over the dream.

It felt so real…all of the people…Yusuke, Kurama, Kuwabara…and especially Hiei…It was somewhat of a letdown to realize that it was just something I had created in my sleep. A small sadness hit my chest and I sighed. What could I expect? After all, I was a normal teenage girl. How in the hell would I find the magical ability to be transported into the world of my all-time favorite anime? That was just…stupid. I sighed as I finished the last of my breakfast and quickly washed my dishes, knowing that my time to catch the bus was drawing even nearer. After a bit of digging in my room, I found my backpack and snatched my halfway finished homework off the desk to shove it into the bag. It seemed today was going to be just another normal day of school. The teachers would lecture, giving me time to finish the homework I had started, they'd collect it, then while teaching the next lesson I would be half listening and half writing fanfiction stories of my many videogames, animes, manga and movies. Then after school we'd hold the anime club in which I was the vice president…more precisely the Dean of Discipline. The most hated bitch in the club.

I heard the school bus steadily approaching and quickly threw all my supplies together before running out to catch it just in time. Once again the rowdy morons I had to share the bus with were just throwing a party and causing absolute hell. By now the driver had long since given up trying to control the assholes and left people like me to fend for ourselves in keeping the others at bay. I forcefully pushed three trouble makers out of the aisle and plopped down in a seat next to one of the quieter girls who never really talked to anyone. At least it would be safer to sit next to her than anyone else. She was a small framed girl with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes that were hidden by a pair of thick rimmed glasses due to her horribly bad eyesight. She was shy with tons of freckles across her face and usually wouldn't meet anyone's eyes. She was safe from much of the abuse on the bus because people couldn't get a rise out of her. Luckily, I had been mostly left alone since I had kicked one of the other guys that had been abusing me so hard that his head slammed into one of the windows. Since then, I was labeled as crazy…worked just fine for me.

"Psh…morons," I growled as I watched the muscle heads push one another into the seats and walls of the bus in the back. I shook my head and looked ahead, watching the road instead. At least it would prove to be more interesting. We slowly approached the school and the girl next to me suddenly shifted in her seat.

"The power…its weak…instinct…asleep…pain…too weak…wake up…" she began muttering quietly under her breath as she doubled over in the seat. She wrapped her arms around her upper body and began rocking back and forth as much as the limited space would allow. Panicking that she was having some sort of episode, I leaned over toward her and placed my hand on her shoulder tentatively.

"Hey…are you alright?" I asked hoping that she was just trying to freak me out or something along those lines. As soon as my hand made contact with her she jumped from trance and shied away from me like I was trying to attack her. She blinked at me in utter confusion and shook her head wildly as she hid away from me. I stared at her in absolute shock and then noticed that it was deadly quiet all around me. I looked up to see that everyone, including the bus driver was staring at me and we had arrived in the school parking lot. Nothing was said, but no one would look away and after three minutes, I jumped out of my seat and tore off toward the door. Unfortunately for me the driver wouldn't open the door and to only make my current situation worse, I had to kick it open in order to get off the bus and dash into the school. I darted through the halls, not daring to stop until I was in my first period class and plopped down in a chair at the very back. Thankfully, nothing else eventful happened for the rest of the day and I was able to hide in the back of my classes where no one would bother me. While I passed through the hours in autopilot, I thought back over that…dream…

While it was true that dreams typically lasted fifteen minutes in real time and could still hold so much information, but…there was no way in hell all that time with them was just a dream! I could smell the roses around Kurama, I could feel the heat that Hiei's attacks emitted and I could hear the emotions in all of their voices as they spoke. They weren't just some characters in a manga and they were just some voice actors in the anime….they were real! I growled quietly to myself and began chewing incessantly on the end of my blue pen. Maybe…I just wanted to believe that they were real…Maybe this was my way of coping with a life that I didn't quite want to deal with… Mom had always said that depression and bi-polar ran in our family…it was very possible that I suffered from one or the other and creating that little fantasy was my way of coping with it all… I groaned and sat back in the chair, completely unnoticed by the teacher as she continued in her lecture. I stared up at the ceiling in the class room and counted the little holes where people had thrown their pencils into it. In fact there were three pencils currently hanging there just waiting to drop on some poor unsuspecting bastards' heads. More than anything…I just wanted to know if it really happened…or if I had in fact gone crazy.

Suddenly a siren shrieked through the classroom. I nearly fell out of my chair in surprise and the entire class began to freak out. The teacher did her best to calm us all down and answered the ringing phone that was nearly drowned out by the blaring wail. I threw everything I had into my bag and was quick to stand when the teacher informed us all that we needed to head to the gym and quickly. Apparently some strange sort of creatures had entered the building and we attacking at random. We were told to stay together and move quickly. Something strange bubbled in my chest. No…this was wrong…we all filed out of the classroom in an orderly fashion but as soon as the teacher was leading the charge of our class, I slipped from the ranks and darted down the performing arts hallway. I ran past the band, choir, and drama students to reach the special door they only used during the show seasons to move through areas quickly. Behind this door held a tunnel that actually ran underneath the auditorium stage to the other side of the school where the gym actually rested. If there were strange things attacking students at random, then bypassing them through a place they shouldn't be was the best option to stay alive.

I managed to push the door open and slip away from the screaming students into the stone hallway. As I quietly slunk down the stairs, I listened closely to the low rumble of the hall as the pipes above me hummed as they continued working. The hall was usually quiet and the most that could be heard was the music of the orchestra overhead. Now however, what I heard caused chills to raced down my spine. Screams echoed outside of the hall and I heard things crashing over my head, no doubt the auditorium was being torn to shreds. Biting down on the corner of my lip and wondering what it god's name had suddenly happened. Why was this happening now? My school had never had anything happen to it outside of the normal thick headed moron's starting fights…we never had to have the police called, we never had anyone inside the school that shouldn't have been, and we surely never had to worry about our well-being before today. Why had this suddenly descended on us now?

Swallowing my uncertainty and fear, I darted down the hallway and after a couple of minutes, I came to the second set of stairs that would lead up to the door. From that point it would only be two halls over to get to the gym…then at least I hoped that I would be safe. At least even the semblance of it would make me feel better. I gently pressed my hand to the door and took one deep breath before pulling it open and charging through. What I entered into what absolute chaos. Students were running in all different directions and the creatures that pursued many of them could only be described as…demonic. It was hell. Not daring to stare for much longer, I charged through the chaos and weaved through the people to get to a quieter hall. I ran as fast as my legs could take me through the hall and was halfway toward the next hall over when a hand shot out of a classroom alcove and grabbed me tightly around my upper arm. Before I had a chance to utter a sound, a strong hand clamped over my mouth and dragged me into the darkened room and quickly shut the door behind us. Then a very familiar voice said, "Don't scream honey. It's just me."

"M-mom? What are you doing here?!" I blanched as she lowered her hand and drew the black shade over the classroom window before turning on the light. I blinked and looked around to see that it was one of the science labs. There were stools placed around the large tables and at the center of the tables rested gas lines for the Bunsen Burners and such things. I shook away my prior terror and it was quickly replaced with shock. She turned to me with a reassured smiled and quickly drew me into a tight hug. Yet as her arms wrapped around me, the usual sense of security and comfort that I always felt around her was…gone. In fact, I felt restless and like I needed to be away as quickly as I could be, but she head on, burring her face into my hair as any concerned mother would for their child.

"I saw on the news that something was happening here and I rushed to get here as soon as I could. Considering the state of chaos this place is in, it was easy for me to sneak in and try to find you. It was pure luck that I caught you here," she explained as she broke away and held me at arm's length, looking over me intently. No doubt she was looking to see if I was injured or not.

"So…how are we getting out of here?" I asked as I looked up at her uneasily and searched her face. Something was wrong…not just the whole situation, but everything, including my own mother… There was a key element that was missing from her person and at first I couldn't even place what it was…

"Well, when I got in here, the back way through the janitors supply room was completely deserted and there was an emergency exit right next to it. I think that would be the best option and if we run fast, we'll make it out just fine. Then we can get the hell out of here. Oh baby, I'm just so happy that you're safe," she said smiling at me and gave my shoulders a tight squeeze. I nodded absent mindedly at her plan, not really giving it any sort of thought until I realized what was missing this entire time. Something that was so simple I didn't even think about it, but essentially it was everything.

"Sounds good…I just have one question," I stated gently breaking contact with her and stepping back as I carefully stared over her. It was almost perfect. Her hair was dark brown with speckled streaks of grey that I surely had caused her when I was younger and her bright blue eyes were the same shade that they always were when she was worried or scared. The way she talked and the way that she moved, was just like out of my every memory of her. It was all too perfect and flawed all at the same time.

"What is it honey?" she asked tilting her head at me curiously.

"What's my name?" was my simply reply.

She blanched and winced before shaking her head at me. I saw her body tense slightly and she smiled sheepishly as she stammered in surprise, "Wh-what kind of question in that dear? Of course I remember my baby's name. I raised you…besides we shouldn't be talking about this. Who knows what the hell those things are doing outside. This might be our only chance to get out of dodge."

"I'm not moving, until you say my name," I snapped viciously at her. I watched carefully as her eyes widened and then she drew herself up to her full height.

"Alright. I'll play along. You're name is Rin baby. Now let's get moving," she said but before she could fully finish she saw me shaking my head. I smirked at her and crossed my arms as I planted my feet in the ground.

"You just signed your death warrant…That's not my name…not my real name. Rin is the name I assumed upon entering their world to keep a piece of myself safe…My mother has all sorts of names for me, but my real one is special…and you're not her," I stated in a dead-pan monotone. Already I was searching for something close by to use as a weapon in case this got ugly. Sure enough, the imposter tried to look hurt and upset for a minute or two, but upon seeing now change in my demeanor, decided that the charade was over. A twisted smiled broke out across her face and she slowly advanced toward me.

"Well aren't you just the smart little wretch! I was planning on playing this out and striking you down when you were completely unaware, but I suppose this will have to do!" she screeched as she suddenly lunged. The woman drew back her hand and it transformed into a long blade. So she was a shape shifter that could turn her body into a weapon. I sneered at her furiously and rose to meet her as I grabbed one of the wooden stools right on my left side.

"Stop using her face!" I screamed as I dodged her initial attack and responded with a swift one of my own. She didn't even have time to react before I cracked her upside the head with the stool and sent her crashing to the ground. In a flurry of movement, I pounced on top of her and slammed my arm right into the back of her head as she laid face down on the ground. That arm was the one that Morte had harmed with the lightning, the one the shadows had absorbed themselves into, and the very one that Toguro had nearly destroyed with his attack. I slammed her head against the ground one more time and hissed dangerously, "Do not, smear my mother's image you slimy piece of shit!"

Lightning flared to life within in and without a second's hesitation, I poured it into the back of the demoness' head. This not only effectively ended her pathetic life, but it caused me to realize something. The lightning coming to my aid was instinctive and I didn't even really think about it…It was just there. My rage was so primal and so pure that it was close to demonic as anything else in me could be. I smirked somewhat and knew that from this point on, I could use my powers like a real demon should, without having to over think it and without all the trouble of my human side trying to take over. This was all because of one thing…both my human and demonic sides had effectively merged in that once instant to defend the image of my mother and slaughter one who would dare attempt to use her face. I suddenly felt like a complete person for the first time in so long and when I straightened up, my entire sight went black.

_-Soon After-_

My eyes instantly shot open and I once again found myself in the thick of the Fourth Dimensional Mansion. The green aura that I had experienced before was extremely thick around me. I growled quietly for a moment before taking into consideration the situation I had landed myself in. The green glowing aura illuminated the black room around me and I was able to see black vine-like things wrapped tightly around my body from all angles of the room. As it was, I was securely held in the middle of the room, without being able to move a single inch in one direction or the other. I smirked somewhat. This had been planned very well…I would have to converse with Genkai on how exactly she had all of this set out specifically for me. It was very possible that I had given her way too much to use against me and told her too many things.

"Alright, it's time for a little heat," I stated as I felt a new surge of power racing through my entire body. Without even having to think about it, demonic flames surged all around me and set light to the things binding me in place. I heard crackling of the fire around me, but didn't pay in any mind. Soon the bindings began to fall all around me and the green aura was dispersing as my flames enveloped the entire room. Taking in a deep breath, I took stock of this new power that I seemed to have. It was purely Yokai energy now and I was quite a bit stronger than I had been before. Even my arm seemed to be like nothing was wrong with it anymore. The dull aches that used to race through it were finished and in fact, it felt like I was ready to take on anything that came my way. Whatever had been the reason for that… "dream" it certainly had served a purpose. It made it easier for me to connect with my power and be able to use it with the proper ability now. I might even be on par with a few members of my group now…Speaking of which, I probably needed to find my way to an upper level of the mansion so I could get the hell out of here and find them.

Keeping that in mind, I allowed the flames to die out and dusted the ashes off of my body. Then began probing with my lightning to see around the darkened room and find some way out. It wasn't until my lightning began surging through something metal on the left side of the room that I found what I was looking for. I strode over to it slowly and reached out to see what was conducting my lightning. I was pleasantly surprised to find a ladder that lead straight up. Smirking somewhat to myself, I began to ascend it and used the coursing lightning to see how far it continued upward. There was still a ways to travel but I did notice that when it came to stop, it was an abrupt one quite a few yards above me. I pulled myself up at a steady pace and it wasn't long before I reached up to place my hand against a moving trap door. With one good shove, it was thrust open and I hauled myself out of the darkness, blinking at the newfound light. When my eyes adjusted once again, I found myself in the corner of the room that held Kaito's domain. As I got to my feet and kicked the trap door shut once more, I stepped out behind some of the plants along the side of the room and looked off to the side to see what remained of Kaito after his encounter with my group. Curious to get a better look I stepped forward and crouched at his side.

His body was frozen in the exact position it had been when his soul was ripped from his body and the laugh was still etched into his face. I couldn't help but smirk, at least if someone had to go, they could go out without being terrified about it. I then glanced to his soul as it hovered mere inches over his body. Just like I saw in the anime it was a strange shade of green and was glowing brightly. I tilted my head to the side and firmly placed my hands in my lap, not wanting to risk reaching out and damaging the soul. Instead, I focused on the power that was emanating from it and the way his aura felt to my new and improved demon senses every emotion that was carried within his soul was coming in clear as a bell and now I understood why demons were so prone to coming after human souls. It was a stark difference from emotions and things most demons felt in their everyday lives. It still disgusted me to no end that demons feasted on human souls, but looking over Kaito's soul, I quickly understood why it held such allure for demons. However the fact that my own soul was human, this encounter with it in its rawest state, made me even more eager to protect it and keep it as safe as I possibly could. As I continued to look over him, there was a crashing sound breaking out from behind me and I heard running feet burst into the room.

"Hey! Back off from that soul!" Yusuke's voice shouted demandingly through the room and I flinched at the confrontation I heard in his voice. Did he not know it was me? And if he didn't…there was no way in hell I was going to push him into attacking me. I may have gotten stronger but I doubted that I would be able to stand the brunt of a full out attack from Yusuke and I was sure that he wouldn't pull the punch in order to protect Kaito's soul. Not to mention what Genkai or the others would do as well. Being sure to move slowly, I raised my hands right to shoulder level and stood slowly; turning to face them as I did. Once I was in full view of the group, I watched a series of emotions play over their features, most which consisted of utter surprise. It was Yusuke who recovered first and stammered, "R-Rin?! Is that you?! Sheesh! What happened to your energy?!"

"What wrong? It's like you didn't even know it was me?" I purred with a laugh as I lowered my hands and moved away from Kaito to sit in the exact chair Kurama had when he started the game against him. I crossed my legs and leaned back with a small smirk while I crossed my arms as well. I took stock of their individual expression. Kuwabara was dumbfounded. Botan was shifting from side to side nervously. Kido and Yanagisawa were just staring wide-eyed and mouth agape, no doubt curious as to how I could change in such a short time frame from when they last saw me. Genkai was standing there silent, and watching me intently. I stared at her hard for a moment and restrained myself as well as the comments I wanted to say to her. Then I looked to Kurama and Hiei who were both surprised at this new transformation, but were interested in the new power that seemed to be flowing from me. After I was completely satisfied that this new…me was made blatantly clear, I withdrew my power and quickly suppressed it back to the way it was before I got my little power boost. I tilted my head to the side and asked, "Is that a little better?"

"Jeeze! What happened to you Rin?! Your power is…way stronger than it was before! If Morte and Azra came after you now, you'd make 'em into a pound cake!" Kuwabara choked as he shook his head and relaxed a bit.

"No…despite this little burst of potential, I'm still a ways off from being able to take them down on my own just yet…As for my current state however, we can thank Genkai for that. After all this little mansion was a specific test for all of us and seeing as how I knew what you all would be going through, she needed to think up something entirely off the wall for me…Although, I can't say it was in the best of…tastes…" I stared at Genkai darkly for a minute and did my best to convey, in my look alone that I was absolutely pissed with what she had done.

Apparently, it got through as she asked dryly, "By the death glare you're giving me, I would venture to say that you were not impressed?"

"Hm…I do not question your method's Genkai nor your reasoning for doing what you do, but let me make this clear…Do not ever use my mother's image against me ever again…or my response will not be so diplomatic and I don't care for the fact that you could still very well beat me into the ground. I will cause all the hell I can before that happens," I stated in a dead monotone. Yusuke and Kuwabara blanched at the sudden drop in my tone and Kurama and Hiei only tensed slightly. It was not beyond them that I was absolutely pissed.

"It would seem that despite this new control over your power, you still lack control of your temper and emotional outbursts," Genkai sniffed as I arched my eyebrow in response. As much as I wanted to lash back at her, I had to admit that she had a point. Damn old hag. She was setting me up to make a complete ass of myself, but this time, I would not be so willing to take the bait. Yet, she couldn't leave it there, "However, despite that I think you should know the accomplishment you have achieved. That specific illusion was meant to keep you trapped within it so long as you had any doubts about the person you have become as well as your ability to fight. You're useless in battle if you question every motive and are so locked in your homesickness. It seems as though you have come to term with these things and in fact rose above them."

"It would seem so," I replied dryly. Thinking that it would be wise for me to leave until I wasn't so…irritable, I got to my feet and began making my way for the door…swiftly.

"Wait! Rin we have a situation-" Botan chirped suddenly coming to life as she frantically hoped to keep me in one place long enough to brief me.

"I'm well aware about the issue with the Demon Plane and Swarm City. As always, I will be right there ready to help and give it my all, but at the current moment, I really want to go home and relax. So, that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'll meet up with you all so we can go handle the trouble making bastards, alright? And don't worry about telling me when and where, considering I already know. Until then, tah tah for now and try not to get into too much trouble," I waved my hand dismissively over my shoulder and walked out without even looking back once. As I exited the mansion, a light breeze blew through the air but instead of bringing a breath of fresh air, it brought the stench of demons. I remembered faintly smelling something similar to it back at the Dark Tournament…but this was on a much grander scale. It caused my stomach to churn and make me feel ill all at once. Growling somewhat at my heightened sense of smell and awareness, I wrapped my arms tightly around myself and began making my way back to my apartment. As I walked, I continued to sense the power distortion from the city over and my head began pounding from everything that was going on. While it was a great thing to have a better handle over my demon abilities, being this close to a rift between the Ningenkai and the Makai was a little dizzying. That alone made me worry as to what was going to happen when I actually was thrown into the middle of the Makai…that was a scary thought.

It was about a half hour of walking before I managed to get back to my apartment and by then, I was pretty tuckered out. After I kicked the door shut and locked it behind me, I headed straight to the bathroom and drew up a warm bath. I looked through the bathroom closet for some scented bath soaps or something else to ease my tense muscles from just soaking. After a few minutes, the bath water smelled like an aroma therapy spa and it wasn't much longer that I had slipped in with my clothes thrown into a pile at the entrance of the doorway. I sighed contently as I slipped deeper into the water and closed my eyes, finally deciding it was time to just relax a little while. More than anything, I just wanted to forget what had triggered this new connection to my power. I wanted to forget the creature that had taken on the form of my mother and I wanted to forget most of all, the look on her face when she tried to say my name… the thought that my mom would even remotely forget me…was entirely impossible and I shook the thought from my head and I slumped completely under the water.

The quiet was amazing and I felt temporarily cut off from all the strange senses involving Swarm City and the Makai. I stayed under the water as long as I possibly could, until I had to breathe and was probably in the tub soaking for a good hour or so. Then I snatched a towel from the wrack and wound it around myself as I stepped out and allowed the water to drain. I ran a hand towel through my now shortened hair and then combed it straight before walking off to my room to find a pair of shorts and a tank-top to wear. Once that was done, I plopped down on top of the blankets and buried my face into my pillows, wishing that Genkai hadn't found something so sensitive to use against. Although I knew all too well that she had to do that in order for me to reach that level to activate the power in the first place…still didn't mean I had to like it.

Still grumbling to myself, I turned over on the bed and slipped into sleep.

_-The Next Morning-_

Something twitched in the back of my mind. Something was in my room that didn't belong. I woke from a dead sleep to reach for my weapons as they laid on the ground beside my bed and shot into a sitting position once I had them in hand. My eyes snapped open and lightning began sparking all around me warning as I quickly searched for the source of the intrusion. The sleep quickly fell away from my mind and my unfocused eyes swam into clarity in seconds. All of this adrenaline rushing through my body had me on the edge of the bed and I was nearly about to lash out when I finally caught sight of the source. I blinked dumbly and dropped my weapons on the ground as I said, "Hiei, what the hell are you doing in my room?"

The fire apparition merely stared at me intently before silently pointing at my bedroom window. I looked over at it and it took me a minute to understand what he meant. Then it struck me that he was saying the window was open and I sweat-dropped as he said, "It might as well have been an open invitation…however I am surprised you reacted as quickly as you did. I wasn't even in here for two minutes before you sensed me. I take it that this is due to your newly acquired awareness and control over your own powers."

"You're probably right…" I answered completely relaxing my power and sitting back on the bed kicking out my feet in front of me as I rubbed the sleep completely away from both of my eyes. A yawn escaped from me as I did so and I crossed my legs while scratching my head sleepily. Considering there was no threat to be had, I was hardly in a rush to get moving on Hiei's account. I glanced over him carefully before stretching somewhat saying, "So tell me, what brings you here this time of day? Shouldn't you be out scoping Swarm City or something to figure out how to get into the Makai?"

"Hn…you know full well what I will be doing…however I am interested in your…newfound power for the moment," Hiei answered as he moved over to the bedside table next to my bed and placed his hand on the wood. I glanced at him warily for a moment and noticed that he was staring at my neck curiously. I was nearly on the verge of panicking until I realized exactly what he was looking at in the first place. The black tear jewel and my locket were tangled up together from how I had been sleeping and it looked like a complete and total mess. As I glanced at Hiei from the corner of my eye, I noticed this his hand seemed to be placed rather awkwardly on the bedside table…Had he instinctively reached out to fix them and then realized what he was doing? I sat back away from him and immediately went to untangling the necklaces on my own. This movement caused the apparition to step back away from the bed and immediately withdraw his hands into his pockets. Once my necklaces were in order, I bounced to my feet and snatched my chakram off the ground before going over to the dresser and digging out a new outfit for the day.

"You know, if you head into the kitchen, I'll make us something to eat and then we can discuss my little power boost," I said over my shoulder as I pulled a shirt and pair of jeans from the dresser before glancing over my shoulder. Seeing that he hadn't moved from the spot, I rolled my eyes slightly and coughed, warningly. Once again…he didn't get it. I sighed and turned around to him saying, "Listen, you probably want to leave the room before you see something that's going to embarrass you far more than it will me. Let's spare each other that ok?"

Not sure if he got the hint or if he just didn't want to see me make good on that promise, Hiei swiftly walked out of the room and I reached into my delicates drawer before making my way into the bathroom. I followed my usual morning routine and emerged from the bathroom after I was hooking my chakram on my hips. I sported a pair of black cargo pants and a blue t-shirt with a music note across the front of it. I strode into the kitchen and saw Hiei was perched on the windowsill and I went about getting the ingredients I needed for the breakfast I had planned. I went about humming a variety of songs as I worked and at one point heard Hiei snort in contempt and say something to the effect of, "I see your mockingbird tendencies are still intact despite all of those hits to your head."

I only laughed, "That's something about me that will never change, Hiei. Better get used to that."

It wasn't much longer before I placed two plates on the table of my special recipe French Toast, topped with powdered sugar and drizzled in honey. I smiled happily at my work and placed glasses of milk on the table to drink and waved Hiei over, signaling that the food was finally ready. He slunk off the window sill slowly and eyed the food with an arched eyebrow, not sure what to make of it. I, meanwhile waited like one good pig waits for another – which meant not at all – and plopped down in my chair to dig into my own plate of food. It wasn't long before Hiei concluded that it must not be poison and sat down to eat as well. I glanced up inconspicuously to see if he was enjoying it and by the fact that he was steadily eating, I figured that he was. We ate in silence and once we were both finished with the food, I collected the plates to wash them. After that I was through, I sat back down at the table and placed my head in my hands while looking over Hiei intently. This seemed to unnerve him somewhat.

"What are you staring at?!" he snapped at me causing me to laugh somewhat.

"Well I was under the impression that as soon as breakfast was over you were going to start asking questions about my power and such. How I happened to finally acquire it and if I had the ability to control it. Not to mention how it would affect my fighting in the battles to come. Genkai knocked you all for a loop and she of course had to get creative to do the exact same to me, however I don't think she was quite expecting that particular outcome from it all," I said as I lounged back once more and ran my hand through my hair. This direct approach seemed to catch Hiei somewhat off guard, but for once I think it was alright. He needed to be kept on his toes anyway.

"Alright…Let's start with how it happened," Hiei replied slowly, looking over me warningly. I shrugged and took his hint to keep me deviant mood in check.

"Genkai wanted me to be pushed the same way you all were when you went into the mansion, but seeing as I knew exactly who was behind it all and the purpose of it, not to mention that little detail about the demon plane, it was going to be a bit more of a challenge…however that beloved old hag rose to meet it…and boy did she," I growled darkly, still somewhat perturbed at what she had used against me. Genkai knew how homesick I was and the mere idea of using my mother…it galled me to no end…but what made it worse was that I didn't know it wasn't actually her right off the bat. Meanwhile, Hiei was impatiently waiting for me to continue and with a simple arch of his eyebrow, I got his unspoken question, "She did it cleverly…she made me believe that I was home again and that everything that had happened here; meeting you, fighting Morte and Azra, fighting to stay alive, she made me think it was just a dream. An insignificant creation of my mind and nothing more…for a while she almost had me to…"

"Interesting…" was his only response.

"Pft…anyway, it would seem to me that I have control over it, but I haven't had the chance to actually test it in a real fight," I said tilting my head to the side and smirked at him. Hiei gave me his trademark "Hn" before getting to his feet.

"Follow me," he said before making his way to the front door.

"Ooo! The plot thickens. You actually are using the front door?" I asked as I winked at him teasingly. A glare was all I received in response as he exited the apartment. Cackling contently, I snatched my keys off the table by the door and was sure to lock behind me as we left. I distantly thought about when Morte and Azra broke into my apartment and sweat-dropped. Yeah a lock did fantastically well for humans…not so much for demon asshole siblings. Ignoring that little realization, I quickly followed after Hiei as we made our way up onto the roof and smiled at the dark clouds that were rolling in toward us when we walked outside. A storm was coming…I breathed in the smell of the rain in the air and couldn't wait until it started to fall.

"There's an isolated clearing not far from here…" Hiei stated simply before leaping from where he stood. Without hesitation, I leapt off the rooftop to follow him and we began dashing across the building rooftops to head to wherever this clearing was he was referring to. It didn't take nearly as long as I thought and when I landed in the middle of it, I looked around arching my eyebrow somewhat.

"Hiei…isn't this place the clearing where Yusuke fought Goki for the first time after you all stole those artifacts from the Reikai?" I asked looking at him incredulously. He merely shrugged in response, but the flash I saw in his eyes told me that I was right. I shook my head ruefully and crossed my arms saying, "Well, that aside, what now?"

He was already unsheathing his katana, "Are you truly that dim?"

"Apparently so," I replied as I expertly unhooked my chakram from my hips and shifted into a balanced stance before pushing off the ground to rush forward as soon as I caught hint of Hiei's movement. We met right in the middle of the clearing and we clashed in a flurry of movement. It took everything I had to use my two chakram effectively against Hiei's powerful sword attacks and with every slash he thrust, I slammed one chakram up to push it away while using the other to land a hit of my own. Yet, fighting a speed demon proved to be quite the challenge considering the fact that as I went to attack, he had already changed his positioning of his own deflected blade to slide right in front of my own attack, but it didn't stop there. At one point as he deflected an attack that I had aimed directly for his left shoulder by rotating his blade around my chakram in a circle. This effectively caused my weapon to glide harmlessly down the side of his blade while he aimed it directly at my gut. My eyes widened in shock and I jerked my body to the side. My feet tangled themselves up in each other and I crashed onto my hip. The impact sent a shock through my body, but that was the last of my worries.

Twisting my body to the side as quickly as I could, I rolled and barely dodged Hiei bringing down the hilt of his katana right where my head had been. I spun my body on the ground and landed a swift kick to the middle of his chest, shoving him far enough away from me that I could gain some ground. As I did, a loud thunder crack broke out from over us and a light drizzle of rain began to come down around us. I smiled as the cooling water splashed against my face and then looked to see Hiei straightening up as well. It wasn't long before the rain was pouring down around us and we squared off against one another again…This time, however when we dove into the fighting, there was no letting up and no time for breathers.

Our weapons clanged loudly as their connections rang through the air and the smell of blood followed soon after. Of course Hiei was the first one to land a hit as he left a thin slash across the top of my left shoulder. However, he didn't expect me to recover as quickly as I did and was unable to get out of the way before I left a superficial scratch across his chest. These injuries however didn't faze us in the slightest. In fact, we just picked up the space and fought even harder. At one point we were moving so fast that I was beginning to feel the strain in my muscles and I glanced at the scenery around us…it was nothing but a blur full of different shades of green. Not to mention, despite the rain causing the grass beneath our feet to be slick, I was sure footed and managed to bat aside quite few of Hiei's attacks because of it. What made me happy was that despite the fact that we were moving at tops speeds, for me anyway seeing as I was sure that Hiei was still holding back to a degree, I wasn't even winded in the slightest. In fact, I felt like I had more energy stored up than I've ever had before. It was exhilarating to fight with Hiei on such a level…I had never been able to keep up with him like this and it seemed that he noticed it as well. Without any sort of indication, I sensed his power level raise a bit and as I deflected a sword attack from the left, he thrust his right knee toward my gut.

"Switching it up huh?" I asked as I leaned forward, somewhat deflating his attack as I took the brunt of the hit and responded in kind with my left elbow into the middle of his sternum. The impact of our attacks pushed each other a few feet back and our feet effortlessly skid across the slick ground. When we planted our feet once again, we paused before lunging back into the fight and looked over each other carefully. Hiei's eyes were flashing and I felt the anticipation racing through my veins. This was getting exciting. Using the back of my hand, I brushed some of my soaked hair that was stuck to my forehead off to the side and tightened my grip over my chakram. A devious smirk was curling at my lips and I purred softly, "How about I rise to meet the challenge then?"

Inwardly, I probed through my power and quickly found the restraints on my demon strength. Now I found however, that I could consciously remove them instead of the instinctive and rash power ups that I went through in order to survive. My control had widened and that was something that I would have to use in order to stand against Hiei in a real fight. So far he was testing the waters and not even using his full potential. That meant that I needed to push my own limits in an attempt to make him raise his. So, I took a breath and removed a single restraint, raising my energy just a bit more. Hiei arched his brow somewhat as my aura began moving freely through the air and before he realized what I was doing, I wildly rushed him once again. Without fail, our weapons clashed wildly through the air and sparks flared around us viciously. Yet as we pushed against one another with increasing power, it seemed to me as though Hiei was enjoying the little match.

Finally he moved to stab me straight through my shoulder-blade and I threw my chakram forward so that his weapon would slip right through the middle of them. Then with one swift jerk, I tossed not only my weapons to the side, but his as well as it was wrenched out of his hands. It was surprising though that he didn't even lose a single second after I disarmed him to slam one hell of a right hook into the side of my face. The force of the impact dropped me flat on my ass and a spark of lightning flared through my hand. However, I suppressed it and jumped to my feet to throw a knee straight into his gut with as much force as I could muster. When it connected, I followed up the attack with a swipe at a pressure point on his neck. The apparition seemed to see this coming and reach up to wrap his hand tightly around my wrist. I blanched at the sudden contact and barely reacted in time to see him throw another punch at me despite him doubling over slightly from the knee to his abdomen. My hand reached out and tightly gripped him fist in mine, barely in time to stop him. I may have stopped his punch, but my hand felt absolutely numb because of the sheer strength behind his punch. I winced somewhat and looked over him carefully. I nearly about lost all my composure… Hiei was grinning…and grinning in such a way that I wanted nothing more than to run the other way. What the hell did he have planned and was I going to be able to walk back to my apartment after it?!

"How about…we see how far you've truly come!" Hiei stated releasing my wrist to reach up to his bandana covering his Jagan eye.

"Oh…hell…I didn't sign up for this," I muttered darkly under my breath. As soon as the cloth was removed from his eye, it felt like a hundred pounds we weighing down on my chest. As I was reeling from the sudden pressure change, I noticed him launching another punch toward me, but this one was fueled with far more power…Then I saw flames beginning to crackle around his arm despite the rain that continued to pour down around us. My eyes widened in shot and I hissed, "You bastard!"

I wasn't going to move fast enough to be able to catch this punch as I had the first, but I still thrust my arm up in front of my face to act a shield. This time however, it would seem that my newfound demonic instinct would save my ass. My own flames had coated my arm and the hissing sound of steam could be heard as the rain cascaded down. The impact of his attack sent my upper body flying back and flames flared wildly around us. However, my feet only skid across the grass lightly and I still had a chance to knock him back…despite the fact that his Jagan was making it feel as though pound after pound was being put on each of my limbs with each passing minute. I planted my left leg into the ground and brought my right foot up to land in his gut. I held it there for a moment and then released the smallest shock I could to ripple across his soaking wet clothes and stunning him. Then I pushed him away with my foot and dodged back even further, trying to figure out something to do to brush off the effect of his Jagan. While I had in fact gotten stronger in being able to fight it, Hiei was still far stronger than me and that meant it didn't much matter how much of a resistance I had built up. He was still going to overpower me. I grit my teeth as I hissed dangerously and thought up something to keep the apparition on his toes…This was indeed going to be interesting.

"Alright, Hiei. Why don't I just spice this up a little bit for you?!" I called out as I pushed the water away from my body, using the small control over it that I had. After removing the moisture completely from my clothes and making myself completely dry, I instinctively called forth a current of lightning to spiral around me. It crackled and sparked wildly in the rain, but considering I had made myself completely try and planned to stay that way, I was now had the advantage. Hiei's almond shaped eyes widened for a half a second before narrowing on the lightning. I saw an emotion flash across his lips…Was he, dare I say it, maybe the tiniest bit impressed with me? That was something new indeed.

"We'll have to see how skillful you have become!" he responded as he suddenly disappeared on the spot. I watched after image after another damn after image flash all around me and I planted my feet as the electricity flared around me. He wouldn't attack directly due to the high probability of getting shocked all to hell. So he was going to wear me down and then pull something sneaky out of his cloak. I could be sure of that much, but as to what he had in mind, I was in the dark.

I began taking in calming breaths and listening to the currents of electricity crackling all about me. It was flaring out through the clearing and every once in a while it was snag on the end of Hiei's cloak before he bolted off somewhere else. Perhaps his sudden burst of movement wasn't as voluntary as I thought. Using the falling rain as a conductive path, certain currents of electricity managed to flash for several feet before dying out and if he had indeed been standing in one spot there's the slightest chance that one stray shock could've caught him unaware…and now that I knew that, it was possible that I could try to hone that. While half of my focus remained on keeping the water from soaking into my own clothes to make myself a walking lightning rod, I pushed out the lightning even further and was hoping to catch Hiei in the middle of disappearing to a new place. It would seem however that this forced his hand. I felt the disturbance in the air and heard a whistling coming straight toward my forehead. While Hiei's sword were thrown onto the sidelines along with my chakram, he still had the sheathe at his disposal and at that exact moment it was sailing through the air, toward my face.

"You cheeky son of a-" I growled darkly as my focus faltered for half a second. This caused the circle of lightning to tighten around me instead of spreading through the air as it had before. At that moment, Hiei appeared on my left side and launched a fiery fist straight toward my head. I spun my the balls of my feet in the slick grass and used the momentum of my upper body to swing my fist straight toward his. However instead of playing a rather vicious game of bloody knuckles, my hit turned out to be a glancing blow and out fists harmlessly fell to the sides. That only encouraged us both to fight even harder and our limbs blurred into furious motion. We no longer limited ourselves to just punching. No, this time we hastily but fluidly linked a series of punches, kicks, knees, and elbows all into one string of attack. All the while, sweat poured down the sides of my face and I locked my eyes with Hiei. I was shocked to find that he had done the same and I pushed myself to my utter limits just to keep up with his speed and gasped, "So, how well am I holding up?"

Hiei smirked ever so subtly and said, "You've improved…but still have a ways to go."

"Don't I always?" I hissed through a ragged breath. At that moment, I threw my fist forward and attempted to land one square hit to his jaw. I foolishly thought I had moved fast enough to catch him unaware and he quickly rectified that. Effortlessly, he batted my punch to the side before landing one swift thrust of his other, more powerful fist straight into the middle of my diaphragm. I choked on the force of the impact and was faintly aware of being lifted clean off my feet. I flew through the air for a few precious moments before smacking into the dirt and skidding along the wet grass. Amazingly enough, I somehow stopped before slamming into any trees but I soon found that it hurt to breathe…although I couldn't exactly be surprised…there was no way Hiei would launch a half-assed attack at me. It felt as though the muscles in my gut were strained past their usual point and it took a good five minutes before I managed to even sit up to look over at Hiei as he was walking over to where our weapons lied. For the moment, he seemed completely disinterested in me and that gave me a chance to recover from our rather intense little spar. Coughing somewhat, I wiped some blood from the corner of my mouth and completely withdrew all of my power from the air. Instantly, I was soaked all the way to the bone and a chill washed over my body. I wrapped my arms tightly around my upper body and chattered, "T-This s-sucks…"

I heard a soft chuckle escape from Hiei's throat as he walked over to me and held out my chakram to me. I wrinkled my brow in a smirk and took them from him to hook them back on my hips. Meanwhile, Hiei had found his sheathe and slid the blade back where it belonged. Just as I was about to get to my feet on my own, I looked up to see him holding out a hand to me. I blinked at him before softening my smile and taking out his offered hand. In one swift motion, he pulled me to my feet and then I sensed him tense. At first I didn't understand what his strange reaction was about until I suddenly sensed a new presence hiding off behind one of the trees to my right. The wolf in me, lifted my hair to take in the scent of the air. Once I caught wind of who it was, I growled and shook my head. Hiei arched his eyebrow at me and replaced the bandana over his Jagan. Then he turned to the exact tree that I caught the scent from and called out, "Come out, fox! We both know you're there."

There was a chuckle and none to my surprise, Kurama emerged from the shadows with a dark green umbrella over his head. I crossed my arms tightly over my chest self-consciously. Thankfully the shirt was dark enough that it wasn't see through when wet, but it was so tightly hung on my frame that I doubted much was left to the imagination and that deeply embarrassed me. As if picking up on this, Kurama was careful to make eye-contact with Hiei only and I just stood there as he said, "I was sure you two would be out here seeing how far her limits had grown. It was just a matter of catching what time it would happen."

"You know Kurama, you'd almost be rather impressive with that talent…if you didn't use it almost every minute that you're around me," I huffed in annoyance as I blew a few strands of hair from my eyes.

"Hn. It's a shame that you make it far too easy for him to do it," Hiei stated blandly as he quickly shook his cloak from his shoulders. I halfway expected him to just ring it out, but was pleasantly shocked when he tossed it up to land carefully around my shoulders. I looked back at him and he merely dismissed it as he began walking away. Before he fully disappeared however, he looked over his shoulder and called, "I expect that to be dried and ready for me to pick up when you leave with those fools to go wherever they're going."

I arched my eyebrows at him as he completely disappeared before I looked back to the red-haired kitsune to say, "Why do I feel like I was just dismissed?"

Kurama threw back his head and laughed with a shake of his head. His emerald eyes were alight with amusement as he stepped to the side and gestured for me to join him under the umbrella which was large enough for the two of us. I walked over to him and he said, "Let's get you back to your apartment. You're covered in dirt and I'm sure you could use some rest. We can talk along the way."

"Sounds good to me," I said with a shrug and followed beside him. As we wove our way through the trees and back to civilization, I looked over my shoulder at him and said, "So…I'll bite. How long had you been standing there watching us before we noticed you?"

"Funnily enough, I arrived around the same time both of you did. I managed to witness quite a bit of your spar, but the two of you were so focused on the other that so long as I kept my aura low, you wouldn't have noticed me at all," he stated as we continued to walk. It wasn't long before we broke the edge of the woods and stepped out onto the sidewalk. The rain began to lighten up and I looked out past the cover of the umbrella to see the clouds thinning up. I was beginning to feel the exhaustion weigh down on my limbs and I yawned slightly until Kurama chuckled lightly to get my attention. I looked at him from the corner of my eyes and he continued, "It's rather odd…Hiei is usually one who doesn't lose his focus easily, however the proximity to the opening in the Demon Plane could be the cause of it, but from my observations it seems to me that when you're around, our pyro-inclined friend doesn't seem as clear headed nowadays as he used to be."

I choked on the very air I was breathing. I looked at him dumbstruck before lamely stammering, "W-What are you t-talking about Kurama?"

"Come now, Rin. I know you're smarter than that. Honestly, think hard and if you need a little incentive, just think about the new addition to your locket that hangs around your neck," the kitsune said causing me to stop walking and he paused as well. I brought my right hand up to my neck and curled my hand around both my locket and the jewel that Hiei had given me. Dozens of things were racing through my mind and at first I couldn't make sense of it, but Kurama quickly saved me, "He was furious at first. After you threw that jewel in his face, he wanted nothing more than to put you in your place…but he was too stunned at the fact that you knew what it was and yet you still threw it at him. Hiei was stunned at the fact that you caused an emotion that he doesn't often feel. He was…in his own way, hurt."

"Hurt? So…I upset him…and yet he still…oh I am the worst kind of bitch," I sighed slapping my forehead and stepped away from Kurama. By this time the rain was clearing up and the sun was beginning to shine.

Kurama laughed, "After I managed to cool his temper and let him simmer a while, I asked him what he was going to do with the jewel. He merely shrugged and said something to the effect that it wasn't his to decide for. Knowing what that meant, I suggested that perhaps having it mounted on a base and stringing it onto a necklace would be a good use for it."

I blinked and then tilted my head to the side as I narrowed my eyes on him dangerously, "Kurama…are you playing with our relationship?"

"There's a relationship?" Kurama asked almost innocently.

"You better start running and run fast fox boy," I hissed as I darted after him. In seconds, the red-haired kitsune had closed the umbrella and was running down the street ahead of me. Neither of us was running full out, but it wasn't long before we were standing outside of my apartment building. I was red in the face and completely out of breath, but Kurama was laughing in such a way it reminded me greatly of the devious nature I often saw in Yusuke. They were all beginning to hang out too much from as far as I could tell. I ran my hand through my hair and straightened up to look at him as I said, "Well…considering I practically sparred half the day away with Hiei, I'm going to head up and relax a little bit. See you in Swarm City, Kurama…we have quite a bit still ahead of us."

Kurama nodded as the glint in his emerald eyes began to calm and said almost seriously, "You can be sure that one top of whatever enemies we have to face there, that Morte and Azra won't be too far behind."

I nodded and crossed my arms, "Yeah…I kind of figured as much…hopefully this new little power boost will manage to put me on better terms against the two of them…But until then, there's no use in worrying about it. Go take care of your mother ok? I'll see you soon," I said giving him a one armed hug in which he returned. Then I made my way up to my apartment and threw open the door as soon as it was unlocked, but what I caught sight in the mirror by the doorway caused me to stop in my tracks. I looked like absolute shit! I groaned and tromped off to get myself cleaned off before lazing the day away. I started drinking a cup of tea and plopped onto the couch to watch some TV.

I figured that with all the hell that was coming up next…I had a few hours of chilling owed to me!

_-Chapter End-_

_**ME:**_** Sorry that took so long…I actually had this typed up and ready to go the day before Valentine's Day, but my flash drive finally decided to stop working and I had to resort to getting a new one…**

_**Kurama:**_** So I suppose you should count yourself lucky that you had this one saved on your actual computer then?**

_**ME:**_** All of it except for the fight scene with Hiei… I had to rewrite it from memory…I wish I still had the first one…it was funny…T.T**

_**Kurama:**_** Well, considering Ghost and Hiei are still…indisposed and the authoress is moping, I suppose I'll say thank you for reading, leave us a review to tell us what you think and we'll see you next chapter. See you then.**


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